Doctors urging parents to get kids vaccinated due to number of whooping cough cases

COLUMBUS — Doctors across the state are urging parents to get their kids vaccinated with Ohio leading the nation in whooping cough cases, a rare and serious sickness.

>>PREVIOUS COVERAGE: CDC: Ohio leading nation in whooping cough cases

The state has reported more than 600 cases of whopping cough and they’ve been popping here in the Miami Valley.

News Center 7′s Xavier Hershovitz reported on this story from Miami County during News Center 7′s Daybreak.

News Center 7 has previously reported that Dayton Children’s has had nearly 120 whooping cough cases since September, including nine in Miami County.

Montgomery County also has 73 cases from August through last week and 14 people have reported getting whopping cough in Warren County in just the last month.

>>Previous Coverage: Whooping cough cases are on the rise locally, health officials say

Hershovitz says doctors across the state are using parents to get their kids vaccinated.

“Vaccines are our best and most essential tool of prevention,” said Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, Director of the Ohio Department of Health. “It is far better to protect our children from getting these than deal with the aftermath that can include hospitalization or death.”

Amoxicillin is typically used to treat whopping cough but there is currently a nationwide shortage of the drug.

It is underscoring doctors’ warnings to get vaccinated.

>>PREVIOUS COVERAGE: ‘Very contagious;’ Whooping cough cases confirmed in Kettering schools as cases increase in Ohio

News Center 7 spoke with a Miami County family on Thursday that just got over whooping cough.

A mom told our own Kayla McDermott on Thursday that three members of her family were sick.

“It was just a very bad cough,” she said. “He wasn’t feeling well. We had to skip school for almost a week.”

>>PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Case of whooping cough detected at Kettering school

The symptoms of whooping cough can be hard to detect because they are like the uncommon cold.

Unlike a cold, the coughing can last for weeks, even months.

Other symptoms include a runny nose, fever, sleep apnea, and struggling to breathe.

For more information on whooping cough, visit this website.

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