Latest news, weather and high school sports for Albany and Southwest Georgia

ALBANY, GA -- In 2010, the United States reported more than 21,000 cases of whooping cough, mostly in children younger than six months old. Local health care providers say Southwest Georgia was included in some of those.

Whooping cough, also known as pertussis, is a highly contagious disease causing coughing fits that makes it difficult to breathe, and infants are at high risk of being infected, according to Sanofi Pasteur Inc. 

“We did actually have some positive pertussis cases right here in Southwest Georgia,” says Suzette Profit, Immunization Coordinator for Dougherty County. “The children haven't yet started built up that immunity that young so it's very important as adults we take the time to get vaccinated against pertussis.”

Health providers say this is a reminder that children are at risk of serious diseases that can be protected by vaccines.

“It's much easier to just go ahead and get the vaccines then to wait and see if the child is actually going to get these diseases because it's much more costly if families and children get these diseases,” says Profit.

That’s why they’re stressing the importance of vaccinations against childhood diseases during National Infant Immunization Week, which runs through April 30. Local public health departments will be equipped with additional pamphlets about childhood vaccinations.

Parent Kelli Currington brought two of her children into the Dougherty County Health Department clinic to be updated on their vaccinations.

“There's a lot of things going on with sickness and colds and flu in the school system. I'm just trying to catch them up and get them back on track,” says Currington.

Health officials say they do see parents who, unlike Currington, are wary of vaccinating their children after they read certain information on the web, but they say if you have questions, they’re here with literature and answers.

“A lot of times it's not true but we do have questions sometimes about autism being related to certain vaccines,” says Profit. She says health providers give these parents literature and are willing to answer any questions they have. “A lot of times that will broaden their perspective of it and they'll go ahead and get the vaccines.”

Profit says if parents keep up with their children’s vaccines, it will save the family money as well as their kids from missing school and suffering from severe sickness.

“I advise anybody to get their child's shots to catch up with them so they won't be sick,” says Currington.

For pertussis, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says children should receive one dose of diphtheria, tetanus and acellular pertussis vaccine (DTaP) at two, four and six months of age, a fourth dose between 15 and 18 months, and a fifth dose at four to six years of age. They also say teens between 11 and 18 years old and adults between 19 and 64 years old should receive DTaP.

Visit the following links for more information on vaccinating your children:
American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP)
American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
National Institutes of Health (NIH)