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Whooping Cough Cases Pop Up In Lexington. These Are The Symptoms, Plus Vaccine Information
Though public schools in Fayette County won't start back until Aug. 16, the health department reports whooping cough is already spreading in Lexington.
Kevin Hall, spokesman for the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department, told the Herald-Leader Thursday the agency has detected a handful of cases.
This highly contagious disease, marked by the symptomatic hacking cough seen in adults and adolescents, is particularly dangerous for babies and pregnant women. Here's what to know about whooping cough in Kentucky.
The Herald-Leader has reached out to Kentucky's public health agency Friday for comment about whooping cough cases outside of Fayette County, but has not received a response.
What is whooping cough?Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, is a highly contagious respiratory tract infection that is bacterial in nature. It gets its name from the characteristic hacking cough symptomatic of the disease, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Before the advent of a vaccine, it was considered a childhood disease. Now, it's associated more often with children who are too young to have completed the full course of vaccinations required for protection and adults whose immunity has waned.
Though deaths are rare, according to the Mayo Clinic, they most commonly occur in infants, which is why it's important for pregnant women and those who take care of young children to be vaccinated.
What are the symptoms of whooping cough?Apart from its characteristic "whooping" cough, symptoms resemble a cold and include a runny nose, nasal congestion, red and watery eyes and fever. These initial symptoms appear between seven to 10 days after infection, according to the Mayo Clinic.
The more severe symptoms, like vomiting, extreme fatigue and difficulty breathing, appear after a week or two.
Even though pertussis is associated with a violent cough, many people never develop it, according to the Mayo Clinic. A persistent cough is only a sign an adolescent or adult has pertussis. Babies may not cough at all. Instead, they may struggle to breathe or temporarily stop breathing all together.
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Whooping cough cases in Fayette CountyLFCHD's Hall told the Herald-Leader in an email Thursday the agency is aware of fewer than five cases of whooping cough in the county.
"Pertussis is a highly contagious respiratory illness spread by coughing and sneezing. It affects people of all ages but can be most serious in infants and those with chronic diseases," Hall wrote in the statement.
The health department urges those who are at high risk for pertussis to take preventative antibiotics in the event of an exposure. According to Hall, this includes people with chronic illnesses or weakened immune systems, pregnant women and infants.
If your child does show symptoms of whooping cough, keep them home from school or day care and call your doctor even if they've previously been vaccinated. If the case is probable or confirmed pertussis, children should remain home until they finish taking their antibiotics, Hall said.
What's the childhood vaccination rate for whooping cough in KY?As explained by the Cleveland Clinic, there are two types of whooping cough/pertussis vaccines. They are the initial DTaP and the booster Tdap shots.
The first variety, the DTaP vaccines, protect young children from diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis. According to the clinic, by the age of 7, a child will have received five shots of the pertussis vaccine.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends infants and children be given all five doses of the vaccine before age 6. The recommendation is for one dose each administered at the following age interval: 2 months, 4 months, 6 months, 15 through 18 months and the final dose sometime between ages 4 and 6.
Additionally, preteens, teens and adults should get their Tdap booster vaccines every 10 years, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
So how are Kentucky children doing? According to the Immunize Kentucky Coalition, citing state immunization registry data from 2020, the rate of children who have received all five DTaP doses by age 6 varies widely across Kentucky, from 10.52% on the low end 38.68% on the high end.
Jefferson County, Kentucky's most populated county, also has the lowest five-dose DTaP vaccination rate in the state, with just 10.52% of 6-year-olds having received all five doses.
The highest, at 38.68%, is Grayson County in the southwest portion of the state.
Fayette County falls somewhere in the middle, roughly speaking. There, 19.61% of 6-year-olds have received five doses of the DTaP vaccine, giving them a high rate of protection against pertussis until their preteens, when immunity begins to wane and a booster dose is recommended.
Data from Kentucky's immunization registry displayed in a data visualization by Angela Taylor of the Kentucky Cabinet of Health and Family Services. Immunize Kentucky Coaltion.
Nationwide, vaccine rates for measles, polio, diphtheria and other highly contagious diseases have been declining, according to CNN. This is a problem, not just because it means more children are at risk for severe yet easily-preventable illnesses, but also because it puts entire communities at risk.
When the number of unvaccinated individuals goes up in a community, so does the risk for the most vulnerable, including babies too young to be vaccinated and people for whom the vaccine doesn't work as well. That could include cancer patients who are receiving chemotherapy, for example, per the CNN report.
This story may be updated.
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7 Causes For Chills Without Fever And Tips For Treatment
You may experience chills without fever due to exposure to cold temperatures, intense exercise, or certain health conditions. Treatment depends on the underlying cause.
Chills (shivering) are caused by rapid alternation between muscle contractions and relaxation. These muscle contractions are how your body tries to warm itself up when cold.
Chills are often, though not always, associated with fever. Sometimes, they precede the onset of fever, especially if an infection causes the fever. Other times, they occur without a spike in temperature. Chills may or may not be serious, depending on the underlying cause.
Several conditions can cause chills without fever.
You may experience chills in a cold place, such as the ocean or a pool, or outside on a chilly day. You can also get chills if your clothing becomes damp or wet. You can get chills indoors, too, if the air-conditioning is set too cold or the heat isn't hot enough.
As the human body ages, it is more difficult to regulate body temperature, even in healthy older adults. Medical conditions such as diabetes and heart disease can also affect your body temperature in the cold.
These types of chills should dissipate as soon as your body warms up. However, if you experience continual shaking after exposure to intense cold, you may have developed complications such as hypothermia or frostbite, which are both potentially serious.
Other symptoms of these conditions can include:
Seek immediate medical help if you suspect hypothermia or frostbite.
Chills without fever may result from taking certain medications or combinations of medications. They may also occur if you take the incorrect dosage of:
Always read the potential side effects information included with medication packaging. If you suspect that you're having chills because of a drug or drugs you use, let a doctor or pharmacist know immediately. Depending on the severity, you may require medical attention.
Marathon running or other extreme sports requiring intense physical exertion may cause changes in your core body temperature. That can result in chills.
This response can happen in any weather but may be more likely in very cold or hot temperatures:
In both instances, other symptoms you might experience include:
You can avoid chills from exercise by remaining hydrated and dressing appropriately for your workouts. Avoid avoiding exercise during the coldest or hottest times of day and limit the time spent in intense activity.
Hydrating and returning your temperature to normal can eliminate your symptoms.
In some instances, you may require IV fluids to treat the condition.
An underactive thyroid is a thyroid gland that doesn't produce enough of the hormones needed to regulate metabolic rate or support overall health. This condition can cause an increased sensitivity to cold, resulting in chills.
Additional symptoms associated with hypothyroidism include:
Hypothyroidism is diagnosed through a blood test. It's a treatable condition and typically requires daily medication.
Hypoglycemia occurs if blood sugar levels dip abnormally low. If you have diabetes, it may be a sign that your medication or diet needs to be adjusted. It's also possible to experience hypoglycemia without diabetes.
Hypoglycemia requires immediate treatment to get blood sugar levels back to healthy levels. One of the symptoms of hypoglycemia is a feeling of shakiness or muscle weakness, which may mimic chills. Other symptoms of this condition include:
Malnutrition occurs when your body lacks the necessary nutrients. This can happen because of:
Without the correct balance of nutrients, your body can't function properly.
Other symptoms of malnutrition include:
Talk with a doctor if you suspect malnutrition. This is a serious condition that can lead to complications if left untreated.
Chills can occur if you have a profound or intense emotional reaction to a situation. Emotions that might cause chills include fear or anxiety.
Chills can also be caused by experiences that move you deeply in a positive way, such as listening to music or inspirational words. You may also experience them due to ASMR.
This is sometimes referred to as a "frisson." It may also be called "chills going up the spine" or "goosebumps."
Chills without fever can become serious if you're experiencing frostbite or hypothermia. These conditions can quickly become a medical emergency requiring immediate intervention or care.
Other conditions that cause chills, such as hypothyroidism, require medical support but may not warrant a visit to the emergency room. If you have the symptoms of this thyroid condition, you may want to make an appointment to see a doctor and ask about getting a diagnostic blood test.
If you have symptoms of hypoglycemia but haven't received a diagnosis of diabetes, contact a doctor or call your local emergency medical services immediately. If you have diabetes and hypoglycemia symptoms that don't improve with at-home treatment, you may need medical help immediately.
If you have diabetes and your chills are caused by hypoglycemia, take a glucose tablet if you have one. Other ways of balancing your sugar levels include: drinking orange juice or regular soda or eating a few pieces of candy.
If your chills are caused by extreme cold, get yourself dry if you are wet. Layer up and make sure to cover your head, hands, and feet so that you can capture and maintain as much body heat as possible.
You may need medical treatment if your chills don't go away quickly.
The following includes common questions about having chills without a fever.
Why am I getting chills but no fever?In some cases, chills can occur before a fever develops. Chills can also result from other medical conditions, including low blood sugar and malnutrition.
What can cause unexplained chills?You can have unexplained chills due to the cold, a medical condition like hypothyroidism, or even a strong emotion.
Can you have COVID-19 chills without a fever?Sometimes, you may develop chills before a fever. But you can also get chills from a cold temperature or health conditions, including dehydration and low blood sugar.
Chills without fever can often be rectified with at-home treatments or modifications of behaviors, such as changing your workout routine. They may also be a sign of a medical condition that requires treatment.
Talk with a doctor if you have chills that don't go away or regularly experience unexplained chills.
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It's Not Just You, Hay Fever Season Is Getting A Whole Lot Worse. Here's Why
As if climate change doesn't already come with enough challenges, it appears there's another we can add to the list: bringing more agony to hay fever sufferers.
Earlier this year the Met Office warned that hay fever could get worse due to climate change. And it's not just a hypothetical future problem: in a recent paper researchers dug into pollen trends over the last 26 years across the UK, focussing on grass, birch, and oak pollen, to investigate how changing weather patterns are already affecting hay fever season.
While the work showed that climate change is certainly having an effect, the exact changes depend on which kind of pollen you're affected by. The season for birch pollen, the second most important type when it comes to hay fever after grass pollen, is increasing in severity – meaning the total amount of pollen seen during the season is higher.
Oak pollen season is also starting earlier and lasting longer. But some good news is that grass pollen, while the first day with high pollen levels seems to be getting earlier, the season doesn't appear to be getting worse.
The data in the study only goes as far as 2020, but Dr Beverly Adams-Groom, lead author of the paper and senior palynologist and pollen forecaster at the University of Worcester, says those trends appear to be continuing.
"The birch pollen season this year and in 2021 were amongst the very worst that we've ever seen," she says.
Why does hayfever season happen?Pollen is a fine powder made by plants as part of their reproductive cycle, and hay fever is an allergic reaction to proteins found on the pollen when it gets into our eyes, nose, and throat.
In the UK there are three main hay fever seasons caused, respectively, by tree pollen which starts in March until mid-May, grass pollen which typically lasts from mid-May to July, and weed pollen from the end of June until September.
And then when it comes to climate change, in theory, higher levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and warmer temperatures should stimulate plant growth, meaning plants can grow faster, flower earlier, and make more pollen.
A European team of researchers has shown that grass pollen season in countries including the UK could get much worse if we don't significantly rein in the amount of carbon dioxide we're releasing into the atmosphere, predicting that that the amount of grass pollen could increase by up to 60 per cent if carbon dioxide levels were to double.
But in reality, the effects are a bit more complicated because of changing weather patterns caused by climate change.
How is climate change impacting pollen production?In the UK we are already seeing warmer, wetter winters; hotter, drier summers; and more frequent and intense weather extremes. Both the weather conditions when a plant is producing pollen, and the conditions when it releases that pollen, plays a part in determining how much reaches the eyes and noses of hay fever sufferers in any given year.
Higher temperatures and more sunshine hours earlier in the year are driving the increase in oak pollen in recent years. Rising temperatures are also what is making birch pollen season worse.
"Birch pollen production occurs usually in June of the previous summer, and it's released in April," says Adams-Groom.
If we have warm weather in the summer, then tree pollen season the following year is likely to be more severe – but exactly how bad it ends up being depends on the weather that next year, too.
"We need to have good weather in-season for the pollen to actually be dispersed," says Adams-Groom. "If it's raining all the time, if it's cold, then the pollen grains will remain within the flowers."
Grasses produce their pollen closer to when they release it. A sustained number of warm, dry days during grass pollen season – such as when we experienced the hottest June on record – can result in a lot of high pollen days in a row, but then lead to grasses quickly depleting themselves and a season that ends earlier than usual.
But drier weather earlier in spring can mean grasses don't produce as much pollen as usual.
To complicate things further, it's possible that the pollen count doesn't give us a full picture of how bad someone's hay fever symptoms are likely to be on any given day – there could be another factor behind anecdotal reports that hay fever seasons are getting tougher, says Adams-Groom.
Other emerging research shows that factors including carbon dioxide and air pollution can increase the potency of pollen grains, meaning that even if the amount of pollen in the air is not going up – and the season overall isn't getting more severe – each pollen grain could be carrying more of the allergenic protein that causes hay fever symptoms.
"We can't be sure exactly what's going on," says Adams-Groom. "But we have to assume that, possibly, despite the fact that the amount of pollen itself isn't increasing in the atmosphere, that the potency might be – there might be more what's called free allergen in the atmosphere."
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All of this adds up to the potential for hay fever seasons to get worse with climate change. But, much like trying to predict the weather, the devil will be in the details – and we'll have to wait for each season to arrive before we truly know how bad (or not-so-bad) it's going to be.
About our expert, Dr Beverley Adams-GroomBeverley is a leading expert in pollen forecasting and provides the UK and Ireland with forecasts for all the main airborne allergens, working in association with the UK Met Office.
Her work has been published in the journals Current Biology and the European Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
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