A young child in southeast Iowa has died from whooping cough, state health officials reported Wednesday.
The child's age, gender and hometown were not released.
State Epidemiologist Patricia Quinlisk said the case should stand as a warning about the disease, also known as pertussis.
Young children are particularly prone to complications from pertussis. Adults tend to have mild cases, so they might not realize they have anything more serious than a cold.
"It is likely this child got exposed to an adult who was coughing," Quinlisk said.
Children usually get five doses of pertussis vaccine between 2 months of age and kindergarten. They generally don't reach full immunity until the last dose.
Quinlisk wouldn't specify how many doses the victim had received, because she said that information would indicate how old the child was. But she said the family apparently was following childhood vaccination guidelines.
Until a few years ago, there was no adult version of the vaccine. Now, it is included in routine tetanus boosters, Quinlisk said, adding that people who spend time around young children should make sure they're vaccinated.
The disease was once common in childhood, but became relatively rare in recent decades because of the vaccine. However, it continues to be present, and it occasionally breaks out. In 2004 and 2005, Iowa and many other states suffered the worst pertussis epidemic in at least 30 years.
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20091029/NEWS/910290354/-1/BUSINESS04
