MARQUETTE, Mich. (WZMQ) – It’s that time of year again when sickness is going around at a higher rate.
While Flu season is just around the corner some doctors are worried about other illnesses that are making a resurgence, “Kind of that time of year we see a lot of upper respiratory infections,” said Nurse Practitioner Rachel Teifke from Superior Walk-In and Family Health. “I’d say this year in particular I feel like we’ve been seeing a little bit ore Pneumonia going around.”
“One of the newer ones we’ve been seeing is actually a very old one and it’s Pertussis or Whooping Cough,” said Dr. Katie Brang from North Country Health. “The upper Midwest especially has been seeing a lot of cases of cough over the last couple of months.”
Upper respiratory infections like Pneumonia and Whooping Cough are surging and with other illnesses prevalent they can hide in plain sight, “That’s part of the problem is that in older people, especially children over the age of one or two Whooping Cough can look a lot like a regular cold,” said Dr. Brang. “Until this cough that just doesn’t stop so it can look like a virus so if you’re not thinking about Whooping Cough it can be easy to miss.”
Even though Infections can look like a virus, that can also be more dangerous, “You’re lungs are taking a hit, they’re getting fatigued, you can have a build up a fluid in the lungs with pneumonia,” said Teifke. “So a lot of times shortness of breath, overall malaise and fatigue are going to be a big issue as well as fevers.”
“The biggest issue with it is it can make little kids like zero to eight weeks old really sick, especially unvaccinated children can get really quite sick,” said Brang. “The other thing we see with whooping cough is the cough can last for up to 100 days so that is incredibly annoying and really disruptive.”
Dr. Brang recommends making sure your up to date on your Whooping Cough vaccine and getting tested early even for cold like symptoms.
Teifke also warns those travelling over the holidays to be cautious of Flu and Covid in the Lower Peninsula and other parts of the Midwest.
