Pregnant Women Encouraged to Get Pertussis Vaccine Booster
Women who are 26 weeks pregnant or more should make sure they are up-to-date on their Tetanus-Diphtheria-Pertussis (Tdap) vaccine. Prairie North Health Region (PNHR) is encouraging pregnant women to contact their nearest public health office to find out if they require a booster.
Dr. Mandiangu Nsungu, Medical Health Officer with PNHR, cautions that “Pertussis, commonly known as whooping cough, is a serious bacterial infection of the respiratory (breathing) system. Anyone can get pertussis, but the disease is most severe in children less than one year of age, when it can be fatal. This disease is also considered severe in pregnant women in the last trimester of pregnancy as it can be passed to the newborn with the potential to cause severe complications and death.”
Melissa Roenspies, a PNHR public health nurse in Meadow Lake, says “It has been an eye opening experience to work with our clients through the recent pertussis outbreak in Meadow Lake and to see how many people can be affected in a very short period of time.”
Since the end of November 2015 to date, 26 cases of pertussis have been confirmed in Meadow Lake.