CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) – With people gathering indoors in the cold weather, it can be easy to catch illnesses, and health officials are giving tips on how to protect yourself from those illnesses, such as whooping cough.
Marshall Health Network in Cabell County and the Putnam County Health Department both confirmed an increase in cases of pertussis, also known as whooping cough. Mikaela Earl, Director of Epidemiology for the Cabell Huntington Health Department says that although the cold weather outside doesn’t directly cause the disease, it causes people to gather together indoors, leading to more exposure to the disease.
She says that vaccinations are the best way to prevent whooping cough. “It is very contagious, but the good thing is it is prevented through vaccination. Symptoms are something you would see in a common cold, so runny or stuffed up nose, low-grade fever, mild occasional cough,” she says. Earl says Whooping Cough is a reportable disease, which means any time someone is diagnosed, their local health department will be notified to monitor that patient and give them education on care…