HAVRE, Mont. (NMB) – On Monday, the Hill County Health Department confirmed two cases of pertussis, also known as whooping cough, in the county. Public Health Director Kim Larson says these are the first confirmed cases in Hill County for this year. Other cases were previously confirmed in Blaine and Chouteau Counties. Larson says that it mostly affects babies and young children and can be fatal.
“It’s a very, highly contagious respiratory disease. So it’s caused by a bacterium. It affects your lungs. You have a real bad cough and sometimes they call it, like the 90-day cough. It just seems to never end. And, oftentimes, people have to take deep breaths in between these coughs, because it’s a big coughing fit and that’s where you get the whooping sound.”
Larson says that about half of Montana’s counties have pertussis and the number of cases has risen dramatically since last year.
“There are 22 counties in Montana that have pertussis right now and this year, there have already been 442 cases of pertussis in Montana and that’s compared to 37 cases at the same time in 2018. So it’s really, really increased. Some counties have had a lot.”
Larson encourages everyone to get vaccinated and to report any cough that’s not going away to their health provider.
