BROOKINGS Brookings is in the midst of a whooping cough outbreak and the county is trying to do something about it, despite radio silence from the South Dakota Department of Health.
Parents at Brookings High School, students at SDSU and patients of Sanford Clinic have all been made aware of cases of pertussis at their respective locations in the last week.
Then, on Wednesday, the SDDOH notified the Brookings County Pandemic Planning and Coordination Committee it would be receiving 1,000 doses of Tdap vaccine the shots nearly everyone receives in childhood that protect against tetanus, diphtheria and whooping cough.
According to the County PPCC, the shots will immediately be made available at the scheduled flu shot clinic at Brookings High School scheduled for Monday night.
According to County PPCC release:
Vaccines will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis. The event will run from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Brookings High School, 530 Elm Ave. Attendees are asked to use the main west entrance.
On Oct. 23, the South Dakota Department of Health notified the Brookings County PPCC that it would receive 1,000 Tdap vaccines to dispense to Brookings County residents 11 years of age and older. The Tdap vaccine protects against tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis. Those eligible for the pertussis vaccine include:
- People 11 and older: if never vaccinated with Tdap or more than 10 years since last Tdap vaccination.
- Pregnant individuals: be between 27 to 36 weeks gestation.
People unsure of their vaccination history can look up their immunizations on their primary care providers patient portal. All adults must have a valid ID or drivers license. Children under 18 years of age who receive a vaccine must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
The Brookings County PPCC will also provide 500 free influenza vaccines to adults ages 18 and older. A valid ID or drivers license is also required to receive a flu shot.
Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, isa highly contagious bacterial infection that can be serious and even deadly, especially for infants and young children. The illness initially presents with cold-like symptoms, followed by severe coughing fits that can last for weeks.
Children are usually given a vaccine against the infection before age 7, and then a booster shot after age 11. Those who are not vaccinated are most at risk for contracting whooping cough.
Parents at Brookings High School were notified of a case at the school last Friday, Oct. 17, via a letter from Superintendent Summer Schultz.
Schultz declined any further comment to The Register, though she did confirm the high school had seen four positive cases.
Also on Oct. 17, SDSU notified students, faculty and staff of cases of pertussis on campus.
According to a short story in the SDSU Collegian the college, encouraged students, faculty and staff to monitor for any signs or symptoms that are consistent with the disease, including a cough
Follow up queries from The Register directed questions to the state Department of Health, though officials did confirm multiple positive cases at SDSU as well.
Sanford Clinic in Brookings also made patients aware of pertussis in Brookings on its Facebook page, reminding patients they could check their vaccination status online and urging them to contact the State Department of Health.
But getting information about public health from the state department proved futile, as multiple calls and multiple emails to multiple people including state epidemiologist Josh Clayton and Dustin Ortbahn, who is in charge of infectious disease surveillance, have gone unreturned.
Whats more, the national Centers for Disease Control website lists zero cases of pertussis in South Dakota for the weeks ending Oct. 12 and Oct. 19, despite the myriad notifications in Brookings.
Meanwhile, the Associated Press reported that nationwide cases of pertussis were at the highest levels seen in a decade, with particularly concerning numbers in nearby Wisconsin.
According to the AP report:
There have been 18,506 cases of whooping cough reported so far, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. That’s the most at this point in the year since 2014, when cases topped 21,800.
The increase is not unexpected whooping cough peaks every three to five years, health experts said. And the numbers indicate a return to levels before the coronavirus pandemic, when whooping cough and other contagious illnesses plummeted.
Still, the tally has some state health officials concerned, including those in Wisconsin, where there have been about 1,000 cases so far this year, compared to a total of 51 last year.
Nationwide, CDC has reported that kindergarten vaccination rates dipped last year and vaccine exemptions are at anall-time high.Thursday, it released state figures, showing that about 86% of kindergartners in Wisconsin got the whooping cough vaccine, compared to more than 92% nationally.
Whooping cough was historically mostly seen in infants, but recent outbreaks have also been seen in older children as vaccination rates have dropped.
According to the AP, most outbreaks this year in Pennsylvania have been in middle school, high school and college settings. Nearly all the cases in Douglas County, Nebraska, are schoolkids and teens, said Justin Frederick, deputy director of the health department.
Staff writer Jay Roe and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
Linehan is the Registers managing editor and welcomes tips and comments to [email protected].
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