Whooping cough outbreak hits Moncton

There's a whooping cough outbreak in the greater Moncton areawith 29 confirmed cases so far, according to the provincial government.

After a spike in whooping cough cases this summer, the province's Office of Public Health saysmore cases have been reported in October.

"That's when the outbreak was declared, on Oct. 2, in the Moncton region," said Dr. Jennifer Russell, the deputy chief medical officer of health.

"So the medical office of health issued another letter letting health care workers know about that."

Warning letters are going out to health-care professionalsand people are being advised to look out for symptoms.

Whooping cough symptoms include excessive coughing, difficulty breathing, and vomiting. Russell said she is encouraging people to get tested if they have symptoms.

She's also advising peopleto get vaccinated, especially if they are around infants, young childrenand pregnant women.

"That's the vulnerable population that we're trying to protect," Russell said.

"So if you're in contact with that population you definitely need to get vaccinated if you're not up to date."

Several cases in Moncton

The University ofMoncton is one of the spots in the city where there have been confirmed casesand health providers are on the watch there for additional whooping cough cases.

"We were contacted by public health advising us that there had been two cases from members of the university community," said Thrse Thriault, a spokesperson for the university.

"And as soon as we learned that, we set out to advise the population on campus."

Russell says whooping cough outbreaks are common every three to five years.

The last outbreak in New Brunswick was in 2012, with 1,400 cases reported.