and uprooted trees continues. The green Bay area is seeing a
whooping cough outbreak, with the county health department
investigating more than 65 cases of the bacterial disease
pertussis since the beginning of April. It can be especially
dangerous in infants. Vaccines for pertussis are part of the
regular schedule for children, with boosters for adults, but
rates for required vaccinations have been dropping, state data
shows. In the last school year, 10% of school students were not
meeting requirements. Joining us with more is Katrina Nordyke,
Brown County deputy public health officer. And thanks very
much for being here. >> Thanks for having me.
>> So what kind of an increase in cases in Brown County is this
of pertussis compared to normal years?
>> Well, so for example, here in Brown County we have 13
confirmed cases, mostly situated in the month of April. And for
last year we had one for the entire year. So we did see an
outbreak this season, as you mentioned, we have investigated
over 65 cases. So that means that we reach out to those with
suspected cases, and do contact tracing, contact investigation,
work with confirmed cases. And for example institutions to
provide education on what to expect and how to encourage
people to seek treatment or stay home if they're feeling ill.
>> Because how dangerous is whooping cough, especially for
babies? >> Well, Lubar cough is also
known as pertussis. It's caused by the bacteria. It's very
contagious. It's spread through the air. When a person with
whooping cough coughs, sneezes, talks, sings and, it's
especially dangerous for infants as they have underdeveloped
airways, potentially haven't been vaccinated, and about a
third to a half of those incidents can be hospitalized
due to complications from the pertussis, we also see, dangers
when you are looking at people who have immunocompromised or
pregnant, persons. >> As we've discussed,
vaccinations for whooping cough are required starting in infancy
with boosters, even for adults. What are you seeing in terms of
a drop off in people getting these required vaccinations?
>> Well, we have seen a slight, decrease statewide in, vaccine
completion and uptake anywhere from around 2 to 5. But here in
Brown County, we are meeting our general benchmarks and also have
been across the state strategizing around how to catch
people up. So people may have felt behind in their vaccination
during Covid, and so we are strategically planning how to
catch people up. We have targeted vaccination clinics,
education and promotion, and we're working with community
partners to also have vaccination clinics out in the
population. >> Is there any sense that lower
rates of vaccinations follow critical messaging around the
Covid vaccine? In recent years? >> Well, we have to wonder how
much of that, small decline in uptake is due to, the Covid 19
pandemic, people not being able to go in to their providers,
people falling behind on just general appointments, and also
maybe some questions remaining about the actual Covid 19
vaccination. But we encourage people, please reach out to your
medical provider, and ask any questions you have. You can ask
them where your vaccination status is at for you or your
loved ones. You can also check online on the Wisconsin
Immunization Registry to see Immunization Registry to see