Whooping cough, chickenpox outbreaks hit Clark County schools

PORTLAND, Ore. () – Clark County Public Health officials are warning residents about a rise in whooping cough cases and chickenpox outbreaks hitting the county and impacting three schools.

In a Tuesday press release, the public health office said 168 whooping cough cases were reported in the first two months of the new school year alone.

Through October, 406 county residents, mostly children, were diagnosed with the virus – marking the highest number of whooping cough cases among all counties in Washington. Reported cases are also 30 times higher than they were in 2023, a county spokesperson told KOIN 6 News, with cases rising statewide as well.

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At the same time, the county is seeing a rise in chickenpox cases among children, with three schools experiencing outbreaks (with each school seeing at least five cases) since late September.

So far, 50 chickenpox cases have been reported, with 23 of the cases being tied to the school outbreaks.

With the rise in cases, the county health office is reminding residents about the importance of vaccines to prevent the diseases.

"We have vaccines that are safe and can prevent these diseases," said Dr. Alan Melnick, Clark County health officer and public health director. "The best thing parents can do to keep their children healthy and prevent them from missing time in the classroom is to ensure they are up to date on their vaccinations."

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A majority of the cases were among unvaccinated children, officials said — noting children with whooping cough or chickenpox cannot return to school until they are no longer contagious, meaning students can miss at least a week of school.

When a school is experiencing a chickenpox outbreak, students who do not have proof of immunity – either from vaccination or previous infection – can be excluded from school for 21 days from the last date they were exposed.

Not only can sick children miss time at school, but they can also bring the illness home to younger siblings and others who are at high risk of complications from the diseases, officials said.

Infants have the greatest risk of illness and hospitalization from whooping cough whereas infants, pregnant people, adolescents, adults, and adults with weakened immune systems are at a higher risk of complications from chickenpox.

Whooping cough, also known as pertussis, is a serious respiratory disease that can spread easily from person to person when an infected person breathes, sneezes, or coughs. Early symptoms include runny or stuffy nose, a mild cough, and a low-grade fever.

Officials warn that one to two weeks after symptoms begin, people can develop "violent coughing fits that leave them gasping for air afterward." Babies with whooping cough may not cough and instead can experience life-threatening pauses in breathing, gagging, or gasping.

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KOIN Breaking News Alerts People with whooping cough are contagious as soon as their first cold-like symptoms begin, health officials said, warning people can spread the illness before knowing they are infected.

People with whooping cough symptoms should contact their healthcare provider for testing and treatment, such as antibiotics, Clark County Public Health said.

Whooping cough vaccinations are recommended for all babies, children, preteens, and pregnant women. Adults who have never received a Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis) vaccine are also advised to get one.

Chickenpox is also highly contagious, Clark County Public Health warned, explaining the disease is mainly spread through close contact with someone who is infected.

Early symptoms include fever, tiredness, loss of appetite, headache, and a rash that turns into itchy, fluid-filled blisters. People with chickenpox are contagious one to two days before the rash begins and stay contagious until all their blisters are scabbed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com.

On the streets of Pakistan's second biggest city, smog stings eyes and burns throats. Inside homes, few people can afford air purifiers to limit the damage of toxic ps that seep through doors and windows.Lahore - a city of 14 million people stuffed with factories on the border with India - regularly ranks among the world's most polluted cities, but it has hit record levels this month. Schools have closed in the main cities of Punjab province, of which Lahore is the capital, until November 17 in a bid to lower children's exposure to the pollution, especially during the morning commute when it is often at its highest."The children are constantly coughing, they have constant allergies. In schools we saw that most of the children were falling sick," said Rafia Iqbal a 38-year-old primary school teacher in the city that borders India.Her husband Muhammad Safdar, a 41-year-old advertising professional, said the level of pollution "is making daily living impossible"."We cannot move around, we cannot go outside, we can do nothing at all," he told AFP.According to the international Air Quality Index Scale, an index value of 300 or higher results is "hazardous" to health and Pakistan has regularly tipped over 1,000 on the scale. In Multan, another city of several million people some 350 kilometres away, the AQI level passed 2,000 last week - a staggering height never seen before by incredulous residents. Access to parks, zoos, playgrounds, historic monuments, museums and recreational areas will be banned until November 17 and tuk-tuks with polluting two-stroke engines, along with restaurants that operate barbecues without filters have been banned in Lahore "hot-spots".Air purifiers are luxury for most families, with the cheapest priced at around $90, with the added cost of replacing filters every few months in such extreme pollution.Safdar and Iqbal do not have air purifiers and instead try to contain their children to one room."Preventive measures should have been taken. It's a yearly occurrence," Safdar said of the government."Obviously there is something missing in their solution."- Cloud of poison -A mix of low-grade fuel emissions from factories and vehicles, exacerbated by agricultural stubble burning, blanket the city each winter, trapped by cooler temperatures and slow-moving winds.The WHO says that air pollution can trigger strokes, heart disease, lung cancer and other respiratory diseases.It is particularly punishing for children and babies, and the elderly. Last year, the Punjab government tested artificial rain to try to overcome the smog, and this year, trucks with water cannons sprayed the streets - with no results.Special smog counters to triage patients have been established at clinics across the province, with 900 people admitted to hospital in Lahore alone on Tuesday.Doctor Qurat ul Ain, a hospital doctor for 15 years, witnesses the damage from an emergency rooms in Lahore.   "This year smog is much more than previous years and the number of patients suffering from its effects is greater too," she told AFP.Many arrive with laboured breathing or coughing fits and reddened eyes, often the elderly, children and young men who have breathed in the toxic air while on the back of motorbikes."We tell people not to go out and otherwise to wear a mask. We tell them not to touch their eyes with their hands, especially children," she adds.For days the concentration of polluting micro-ps PM2.5 in Punjab has been dozens of times higher than that deemed tolerable by the World Health Organization (WHO).Doctor Alia Haider, also a climate activist, is calling for awareness campaigns for patients who often do not know the dangers of smog.Children from poor neighbourhoods, she said, are the first victims because they live all year round with pollutants of different types."We are stuck in our own poison," she said. It's like a cloud of gas over the city."str/sbh/ecl