BROOKINGS — Pertussis, or whooping cough, is spreading in Brookings — and state medical experts are urging residents to watch for symptoms and stay updated with vaccinations.

“Year to date for Brookings, we have 13 cases and almost half of those — six cases being reported just in the month of October. So we have started to see pertussis increase, not only for Brookings County but we’ve had 118 total cases statewide and 32 of those have happened in the month of October,” Joshua Clayton, state epidemiologist, said. “When we’re seeing our numbers increase to the extent that we have statewide, we’re seeing about a 200 percent increase over our five-year baseline. And so that is one cause for some concern.”

He said those figures were the latest available data as of Oct. 28. 

“We know specifically that we have seven cases in Brookings High School that we’re working with — as an outbreak — with the school district,” Clayton said. 

The state health department routinely works with school districts to track infectious diseases and notify parents. 

“There’s just kind of this partnership that exists between those who know the student best and those of us who do investigative disease surveillance,” Melissa Magstadt, South Dakota secretary of health, said. “Our partnership with the school is so critical, and we appreciate the help that they can give us. We are the experts in disease investigation, but they’re the experts in what that student’s life is like. So their schedule, seating arrangements, all of those things become really critical for us being able to find who might have been exposed to that particular student.”

An uptick in pertussis has been reported nationwide.

“We see increases in pertussis every three to five years — and this year is the year,” Clayton said. “We’re seeing increases in cases, and that means increases in outbreaks in settings like schools, work environments and stuff like that. The cough — because of the way it starts and being so mild — is why we do see outbreaks being pretty common when we have large pertussis years.”

Mild early symptoms make it hard to distinguish pertussis from other respiratory conditions. 

“Pertussis typically doesn’t start off severe. It’s runny nose, low grade fever, and a bit of a cough. That is in every type of respiratory illness that there is,” Magstadt said. “But now this year, with this being an outbreak year, we should have a little more awareness — not only as patients and families but as citizens and providers — for what we might normally see as a good old fashioned cold.”

Pertussis doesn’t spread as rapidly as some other respiratory diseases.

“With pertussis — as opposed to like COVID — it takes a lot longer. It takes that prolonged close contact with somebody for that bacteria to spread through respiratory particles,” Clayton said. “It is that face-to-face or confined setting like in a car or stuff like that — it takes that prolonged time. So it’s not just like 15 minutes, it’s more like an hour of prolonged contact.”

Common sense precautions can slow the spread of pertussis.

“Be aware and just kind of keep an eye out; but there’s no need to panic,” Magstadt said. “The same things that stop you from getting any respiratory illness are the same things that apply here — so covering your cough, washing your hands, if you’re sick stay home and stay away from other people, especially if they’re people who are immunocompromised.”

Vaccination is the best prevention, but booster shots are periodically required. 

“With pertussis, we do have some waning of the vaccine itself. So as you would expect through time — three and five years after you’ve received your last dose — that is when you start kind of seeing a little bit increased risk of developing pertussis if you’re exposed to it,” Clayton said. “We do have booster dose recommendations out there. The first one is in those adolescent years of 11 to 12 years of age. And then we have adult booster doses every seven to 10 years. And then I will say, for pregnant women getting a dose of Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis) vaccine during every pregnancy in the third trimester — that’s recommended for all pregnant women.”

Certain age groups are more vulnerable. Ashley Sands — a pediatric infectious disease physician at the Sanford Children’s Hospital — said it’s vital for infants and pregnant women to get vaccinated.

“This is a vaccine that we give to moms starting during pregnancy in the third trimester. And we do that so the baby — when the baby is born — will have some antibodies for pertussis before they’re able to get that vaccine themselves,” Sands said. “The vaccines are very effective when given on time. I would absolutely recommend everybody check their vaccination status and get up to date as you can.”

She said pertussis can hit infants hard.

“Pertussis can lead to little babies — especially under 2 months of age — it can hit them with pauses in their breathing, which we call apnea. So they stop breathing, they could need to be intubated and need a breathing machine or ventilator,” Sands said. “If you suspect pertussis or you know that your infant has been diagnosed with pertussis, it’s great to keep in contact with your primary care office. If there are long pauses and you’re concerned your infant isn’t breathing, for sure call them. At that point it would probably be wise to take your infant to the emergency room.”

Antibiotic treatments are effective, widely available and typically consist of a five day treatment.

“The first few weeks of pertussis, it just seems like a regular, run of the mill cold. You might have some upper respiratory symptoms, runny nose, nasal congestion — and then a few weeks into that, you get that classic inspiratory whoop and the gasping for air,” Sands said. “The unfortunate part is that people are most infectious really before that whoop starts. So if parents are getting a note from school or they know somebody who has been around somebody who has been diagnosed with pertussis — and then the adults or children develop upper respiratory symptoms, it would be best to contact their primary care physician to talk about coming in to get tested.”

Because pertussis can be severe for infants, she strongly recommends the vaccine.

“The best thing for folks to know is that pertussis can be very serious, especially in the littlest members of our community — our little infants,” Sands said. “But we do have a vaccine that is very safe and very effective. Making sure that you’re up to date on your pertussis vaccine is really the best way to prevent serious infection and serious cases of pertussis.”

Contact Jay Roe at jroe@brookingsregister.com.