Whooping cough in southern Alberta
Posted Jun 18, 2012 1:22 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
There’s a whooping cough outbreak in southern Alberta.
Health officials say a series of immunization clinics have been scheduled to combat the outbreak that has infected three dozen residents in the past six months.
Most recently, two infants and two toddlers were hospitalized with the illness.
“This is a serious public health issue, and we cannot stress enough the importance of immunization,” says Dr. Vivien Suttorp, Medical Officer of Health South Zone. “Because infants are especially vulnerable to this outbreak, we are targeting these clinics for the parents and caregivers of infants less than one year of age.”
Whooping cough is a bacterial infection that can cause severe coughing for several months and children are considered especially vulnerable.
The clinics open Thursday in Fort Macleod, Picture Butte, Coaldale, Raymond, Taber, Vauxhall and Bow Island.
For more information on the clinics, click here.
