Whooping cough vaccine program expanded to cover teen gap

New Brunswick will spend $750,000 over three yearsto expand a school vaccination program against whooping cough.

It means students will get a booster shot in Grade 6 instead of Grade 9.

The catch-up program was necessary because kids 11 to 14 were more susceptible to the disease,as vaccines received in infancy wear off after 10 years, said the province's chief medical officer, Dr. Wayne MacDonald.

"At that point they are starting to lose their immunity from their childhood vaccine. What we are trying to do is cover that immunity by moving to [a] program to cover Grade6 as well," said MacDonald.

Whooping cough, also known as pertussis, is a serious childhood illness that begins as a cold, with a runny nose and a cough. But it gradually worsens to violent coughing spells that have the trademark gasping or whooping sound at the end.

It isn't life-threatening to teenagers and adults but it can be deadly in infants. Babies who catch the disease lose weight because they can't or don't eat, and are more likely to suffer ear and lung infections, according to the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control's website.

And whooping cough can hang on for up to two months. It's treated by a course of antibiotics.

Pertussis was relatively rare in North America because of an extensive vaccination program, but it hasseen a resurgence in the past decade.

Last December, public health officials in Toronto put out alerts after several day-care centres reported youngsters coming down with pertussis.