A Kaiser Permanente South Sacramento (Calif.) Medical Center employee came to work with pertussis, or whooping cough, potentially exposing patients to the disease.
The employee, who had been vaccinated for the disease, left work after symptoms appeared and was diagnosed with whooping cough. However, people with pertussis can carry and spread the disease for weeks before symptoms become obvious, according to a News10 report.
"The Sacramento County Health Department was immediately notified of the case and our infectious disease experts are working in conjunction with county health officials to identify, notify and perform appropriate testing for any persons who might have been exposed to the disease," John Belko, MD, Kaiser's chief of infectious disease, said in a statement, according to Fox40.
Sacramento County has seen 69 reported cases of whooping cough already this year. Last year, there were only 59 cases, according to Fox40.