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16 December 2011 09:26
Vaccinations to protect against whooping cough are not given to infants less than two months old
UK travellers planning to take holidays in Chicago over Christmas may want to look into arranging a comprehensive medical travel insurance policy ahead of their trip, following news of a whooping cough outbreak in Cook County and the surrounding areas.
People have been alerted to the outbreak after figures released by the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) showed that 1,149 people were found to be suffering from whooping cough, or pertussis, across the state as of December 13.
Of these, 227 pertussis cases were detected in McHenry, 275 in Cook, 217 in DuPage, and 112 in Lake County, according to a release from the IDPH.
A majority of whooping cough cases have been reported in infants who are too young to receive vaccinations.
The pertussis vaccine should be administered to parents and others who come in contact with infants, according to the IDPH.
Dr Kenneth Soyemi, acting director of the IDPH, said in the release: "In general, the majority of pertussis cases, hospitalisations, and deaths occur in infants less than two months old, who are too young to be vaccinated so the key is protecting these infants and limiting their exposure.
"Pertussis vaccination for infants begins at two months, but young infants are not adequately protected until the initial series of three shots is complete at six months of age."
14 August 2018
Passengers arriving at Heathrow Airport last month faced queues of over two and a half hours at passport control, new figures have revealed.
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11 August 2018
Hundreds of Ryanair flights will not take off as planned on Friday due to pilot strikes in five countries.
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09 August 2018
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07 August 2018
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04 August 2018
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03 August 2018
Gatwick Express must no longer claim it runs "non-stop to Victoria station in half an hour" and "in just 30 minutes" unless it can achieve the time in most cases, a watchdog has ruled.
02 August 2018
A charity is calling for greater access to respite support after it emerged that 72% of Britain's 700,000 young carers feel lonely and isolated during the summer holidays.
01 August 2018
A plan to build new rail links with Heathrow Airport and connect Windsor's two train stations have been submitted to the Government.
31 July 2018
The head of International Airlines Group (IAG), the company that owns British Airways, is 'optimistic' about a legal challenge to end crippling strikes.
27 July 2018
UK holidaymakers heading on staycations this summer could be losing out on millions of pounds worth of savings by booking train tickets at the last minute, a study has revealed.