Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/02/14
By: Chen Wei-ting and Lilian Wu

Taipei, Feb. 14 (CNA) The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said Tuesday that a baby boy and his mother have been infected with pertussis, or whooping cough, becoming the first cluster infection case of the disease this year.

Pertussis is highly contagious, with patients usually suffering from a cough for more than two weeks and showing symptoms similar to flu, such as rhinitis, sneezing and mild fever.

The two-month-old boy developed symptoms between Jan. 14 and Jan. 21, when he was only one month old. He was confirmed to have been infected with pertussis on Feb. 6.

Health authorities began testing four people living with the boy on Jan. 24 and gave them medicine as a precaution. Among them, three tested negative, but the the boy’s mother was confirmed to have been infected on Feb. 7.    [FULL  STORY]