Seventh infant death in California whooping cough outbreak

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Seventh infant death in California whooping cough outbreak

by Purt on July 30, 2010

A seventh infant has died as a result of California's whooping cough epidemic,

which officials have said could be the worst outbreak in 50 years.

A four-week-old baby died at San Diego's Rady Children's Hospital on Tuesday,

Ben Metcalf, a hospital spokesman, told LATimes.com. The child's death was the

first whooping cough-related death in the county since 2001.

No other information on the child was available because the child's relatives

did not consent to releasing identifying information, Metcalf said.

For the current year, 266 whooping cough cases have been reported in San Diego

County. More than 1,500 cases have been confirmed statewide, according to the

state Department of Public Health. At this point last year, only 304 cases had

been reported statewide.

Additionally, seven infant deaths have been confirmed this year as a result of

whooping coughs. Three of the infant deaths occurred in Los Angeles County.

There were three infant deaths from whooping cough in all of 2009, with one each

in Los Angeles, Kern and San Bernardino counties, LATimes.com reports.

To combat the epidemic, California public health officials expanded whooping

cough vaccination recommendations earlier this month to include children under

the age of seven, adults over 64 and women before, during and immediately after

pregnancy. Anyone who may come into contact with pregnant women or infants has

also been encouraged to get vaccinated.