T-L Photo/JOSIE BURKHART The Belmont County Health Department is reporting its three cases of pertussis, or whooping cough, for the first time in six years. Director of Nursing Gabby Timko says people need to be on the lookout and stay up to date on vaccines.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — For the first time since 2019, Belmont County three residents have been diagnosed with pertussis, or whooping cough, according to the health department.

Pertussis is a highly contagious respiratory infection caused by the bacteria Bordetella pertussis. The reported cases come from a school setting, county Director of Nursing Gabby Timko said.

“We also have some pertussis going around, which is kind of frightening,” Timko said Monday. “Two of them were fully vaccinated, so I don’t know if it’s just a bad piece that’s going around or what, but we’re keeping an eye on that.”

Timko described the cases as having one common denominator: One minor who had a case was a classmate of another with pertussis. The other case was someone who lived in the house of one of the school children with pertussis. Two of the cases were found in minors, while the third person is 19 years old.

Timko is not fully sure why the three caught whooping cough because two of the three patients were up to date on their vaccines, while the third had not completed that shot series. Timko speculated that it could be because they contracted a strain of pertussis the vaccine isn’t made to fight against.

The infectious disease manual the health department follows recommends all household contacts and anybody who’s immunosuppressed should be prophylactically treated for pertussis, which means even if the person is not sick, they should still be prescribed an antibiotic to prevent them from getting the illness.

Timko is not sure how whooping cough will spread in the county because the ones who caught the infection were vaccinated, which is intended to prevent people from contracting it.

Pertussis begins as a mild upper respiratory infection with initial symptoms resembling a common cold, including sneezing, runny nose, low-grade fever and a mild cough, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Within two weeks, the cough becomes more severe and is characterized by episodes of numerous rapid coughs followed by a crowing or high-pitched whoop. A thick, clear mucus may come with the cough. The episodes may recur for one to two months and are typically more frequent at night.

The CDC also says early diagnosis and treatment of the infection are very important because antibiotics can help prevent severe illness and reduce the chances of a close contact developing it.

Pertussis is usually spread by direct contact with discharges from the nose and throat of those infected, such as droplets expelled when coughing or sneezing.

The hospitals where the cases were diagnosed report infectious diseases to the Belmont County Health Department.

This infection is something the health department hasn’t seen in six years, so Timko said the department will plan to educate schools on pertussis, patient isolation and antibiotic treatment if the number of cases increases.

Timko suggests making sure everyone in your household is up to date on their Tdap vaccines to help prevent pertussis. The health department does pertussis vaccines at its location as well.

Timko noted that now that the illness has been found in Belmont County, residents need to be on the lookout for the whooping cough infection.