Spring Break
Whooping cough rumors denied
By: Matthew Watkins
Issue date: 10/27/05 Section: News
Texas A&M and Brazos County officials denied that whooping cough is going around the area, despite stories circulating A&M's campus.
Dr. Barbara Tyler, a physician at Beutel Student Health Center, said that it is a rumor that whooping cough is being spread around campus.
"I actually received a call from a parent who said her daughter's professor told her class that whooping cough has been going around," Tyler said.
There have been no instances of whooping cough in the Brazos County in months, said Marcy Hosking of the Brazos County Department of Health. Hosking said doctors who treat a patient with whooping cough are required to report the case to the Department of Health in order to track the illness.
Whooping cough is a highly contagious disease spread by personal contact, coughing and sneezing, according to Texas Department of State Health Services (TDH).
Those struck with the disease pass through three stages, according to TDH. The first stage lasts a week or more and looks like a common cold. This stage is followed by a one to six week stage in which the patient has severe coughing spells. The final stage is a two to three week stage of gradual recovery.
A vaccine was developed in the 1930s that nearly eliminated the disease, but recently cases have increased, especially among adolescents and young adults, according to TDH, which also said the disease causes around 10 to 15 fatalities a year, most of whom are young children.
A local doctor, who asked to remain anonymous, said he has recently treated patients with suspicious sounding coughs. He said that does not necessarily mean that there has been an outbreak of whooping cough. A test must be administered to diagnose the disease, he said.
The doctor acknowledged that he had heard rumors of whooping cough in local College Station schools, but said he believes they were false. He said he heard of a couple of cases of the cough in nearby Caldwell a few months ago.
The doctor said there are other infections that produce a cough that may sound like whooping cough.
Despite the lack of whooping cough cases, the doctor said that if a student has a suspicious sounding cough or flu-like symptoms he or she should go see a doctor, especially because October marks the beginning of the flu season. The likelihood of the illness being whooping cough is minimal but it may be something else, which requires a doctor's attention, he said.
Dr. Edward Styduhar, a physician at Beutel, said the cough going around is probably an upper respiratory illness, which he said a lot of people are sick with right now.
"Its just your typical cough that comes with (illnesses) you see this time of year," he said. "Certainly with all of the people coughing, you may pick up an unusual sounding one but I haven't heard of anything that causes any concern."
Dr. Barbara Tyler, a physician at Beutel Student Health Center, said that it is a rumor that whooping cough is being spread around campus.
"I actually received a call from a parent who said her daughter's professor told her class that whooping cough has been going around," Tyler said.
There have been no instances of whooping cough in the Brazos County in months, said Marcy Hosking of the Brazos County Department of Health. Hosking said doctors who treat a patient with whooping cough are required to report the case to the Department of Health in order to track the illness.
Whooping cough is a highly contagious disease spread by personal contact, coughing and sneezing, according to Texas Department of State Health Services (TDH).
Those struck with the disease pass through three stages, according to TDH. The first stage lasts a week or more and looks like a common cold. This stage is followed by a one to six week stage in which the patient has severe coughing spells. The final stage is a two to three week stage of gradual recovery.
A vaccine was developed in the 1930s that nearly eliminated the disease, but recently cases have increased, especially among adolescents and young adults, according to TDH, which also said the disease causes around 10 to 15 fatalities a year, most of whom are young children.
A local doctor, who asked to remain anonymous, said he has recently treated patients with suspicious sounding coughs. He said that does not necessarily mean that there has been an outbreak of whooping cough. A test must be administered to diagnose the disease, he said.
The doctor acknowledged that he had heard rumors of whooping cough in local College Station schools, but said he believes they were false. He said he heard of a couple of cases of the cough in nearby Caldwell a few months ago.
The doctor said there are other infections that produce a cough that may sound like whooping cough.
Despite the lack of whooping cough cases, the doctor said that if a student has a suspicious sounding cough or flu-like symptoms he or she should go see a doctor, especially because October marks the beginning of the flu season. The likelihood of the illness being whooping cough is minimal but it may be something else, which requires a doctor's attention, he said.
Dr. Edward Styduhar, a physician at Beutel, said the cough going around is probably an upper respiratory illness, which he said a lot of people are sick with right now.
"Its just your typical cough that comes with (illnesses) you see this time of year," he said. "Certainly with all of the people coughing, you may pick up an unusual sounding one but I haven't heard of anything that causes any concern."
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