District Health Department confronts whooping cough

Landmark News Service

The Lincoln Trail District Health Department will host a community forum on pertussis, also known as whooping cough, as 25 cases have been identified in Hardin County. 

Most of the cases are in children. The schools involved are St. James Catholic School, Heartland Elementary, Elizabethtown Christian Academy, Morningside Elementary, Bluegrass Middle School and Rineyville Elementary, the health department reports.

The forum is set for 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Pritchard Community Center in Elizabethtown with pediatricians and the chief of the state division of epidemiology speaking. They will be available to answer questions.

The Hardin County Health Department will offer Tdap vaccines at the forum for adolescents and adults ages 10 to 64 at the reduced price of $35. The usual cost of the vaccine is approximately $85. Some children may qualify for free vaccination.

Health department officials are continuing to investigate the cases and are contacting the parents of children who are identified as close contacts of the confirmed cases of pertussis. Health department officials, school officials, pediatricians and parents have been working together to identify the cases of pertussis and their close contacts. Letters recommending prophylactic treatment have been sent to the parents of the children who have been identified as close contacts, a spokesman said.

Pertussis also can occur in adults and adolescents although symptoms in adults may not be as severe, the spokesman said.

For more information, contact Lincoln Trail District Health Department at (270) 769-1601.