Kevin Hall with the Fayette County Health Department says keeping current on vaccinations is always a good idea, but parents may want to double their precautions at the start of this school year.
"It's important every year, but particularly this year, because we know we're in the middle of this outbreak and there are things that people can do to protect themselves and those around them," he says.
The outbreak Hall refers to is pertussis, better known as whooping cough, and it's an outbreak that started showing up on the health department's radar in late April.
"We are still in outbreak status and will likely be in an outbreak status for quite some time," Hall warns. "It takes at least 42 days without a new case before you are considered out of that status. As we head back to school, this is where it started in the first place. It was the end of the school year and it is so easily spread from kid to kid."
So far, the health department has seen 57 lab-confirmed cases.
A number of those infected are seeing the onset of the trademark heavy cough later in the illnesses progression or not at all, so officials say it's important to monitor flu-like illnesses that don't resolve in the normal amount of time.
Right now most cases are in school-aged kids. While many who have tested positive in Fayette County have been vaccinated, Hall says the immunizations do shorten the length and severity of the illness.
