Whooping cough kills 6, infects 1500 in California

The contagious disease, which can cause weeks of coughing fits so fierce that children can break their ribs, has acquired an epidemic status in California, the worst, the state has witnessed in 50 years.

According to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), more than 1,500 persons have been diagnosed with the killer disease which is more than five times the number last year when 258 were infected with the disease.

Meanwhile, at least 700 more cases are under investigation.

"This has the potential to become very huge," warned Gilberto Chavez, chief of the California Department of Public Health's Center for Infectious Disease. "But we are at a point where we can contain it."

Booster shots recommended
Though, whooping cough can cause serious illness in all who are infected, it is more volatile in infants because they have no natural immunity and are not fully vaccinated until they are at least six months old.

Since cases of the contagious disease tend to be the highest in areas where parents exempt their kids from routine vaccination, health officials are urging everyone in the state, from health care workers to parents and all those who come in contact with babies, to get a booster shots to arrest the spread of the disease.

Immunization is also recommended for everyone seven years and older.

Though whooping cough can cause serious illness in all who are infected, it is more volatile in infants because they have no natural immunity and are not fully vaccinated until they are at least six months old.

Symptoms of whooping cough
Whooping cough, also known as pertussis, is a highly contagious respiratory tract infection. It begins as an ordinary cold and is most infectious before the onset of coughing.

The violent bouts of coughing, which sound almost like barking and can last for months, can make eating, drinking and breathing difficult. Severe coughing can cause vomiting, leading to weight loss and dehydration.

The first symptoms are a runny nose, sneezing, low-grade fever and a mild cough. After about two weeks, the dry, irritating cough turns into coughing spells, which can last for more than a minute making the child red or purple.

Infants: most vulnerable
Infants are highly vulnerable to the infection. More than half of those who get the develop severe complications, leading to hospitalization.

Pertussis can lead to pneumonia (lung infection), brain damage or convulsions in kids. In rare cases (1 in 100), whopping cough can also be deadly.