Pertussis cases in the Flathead reach 44

The Flathead City-County Health Department reported 44 people in the valley with pertussis, or whooping cough, on Nov. 26. Five are children under five years old, 12 were adults and 27 were school-aged children and teenagers.

New cases were reported in schools scattered across the county and areas across the valley. Pending tests were expected to increase that count.

According to Community Health Services director Jody White, recent cases of pertussis were reported at Bigfork Elementary School, Flathead High School, Kila School and Whitefish Christian Academy.

“It’s concerning to see cases in so many different areas,” White said. “They appear to be unrelated.”

White suspects pertussis has been under-diagnosed in adults and children. The situation becomes complicated because some people who are vaccinated will get pertussis with mild symptoms.

“So it goes undiagnosed or misdiagnosed and doesn’t present the classic symptoms,” White said.

One of the newly reported cases in the Flathead is a two-month-old infant who was hospitalized. Pertussis poses a serious threat to infants too young to be vaccinated. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than half of babies under one year old who get infected with pertussis end up in hospitals, and a quarter of them end up with pneumonia.