Pertussis Advisory
This
is to advise you that there has been a case of whooping cough (pertussis) at the
BluffView Intermediate School..
At this time, there are no recommendations for antibiotics among
classmates or other students in the school, but parents and guardians should be aware of the
signs and symptoms of pertussis. If your child has symptoms or develops
symptoms, testing is recommended and five days of antibiotic treatment will be
required before being able to return to school.
What is pertussis?
Pertussis (also called whooping cough) is a disease
caused by bacteria that spreads from person to person with
close contact. Pertussis is often mild in older children and
adults, but can cause serious problems in infants.
Who gets pertussis?
Pertussis is most common among people who have never
been vaccinated, or those who have lost the
protection they got from childhood
vaccines (immunity usually wanes by adolescence), and have not received
a
booster dose of vaccine. Infants are
also likely to get the disease since they are often too young to have full
protection from the vaccine.
What are the symptoms?
Pertussis is a cough illness whose symptoms can range from
mild to severe. It usually begins with
cold-like
symptoms, with a runny nose, sneezing and dry cough. After two weeks of cold-like symptoms, the
cough
slowly gets worse. The next stage,
which may last from four to six weeks, may be marked by coughing spells
that
are uncontrollable and may be followed by vomiting. Between spells, the person may appear to be
well
and usually there is no fever.
These typical symptoms are more common in infants and young
children.
Vaccinated children, teens and
adults may have milder symptoms that can seem like bronchitis.
How is pertussis spread?
The germs that cause pertussis live in the nose,
mouth and throat and are sprayed into the air when an infected
person sneezes,
coughs or talks. Other people can then
inhale the germs in the droplets produced by the
person with pertussis. Touching a tissue or sharing a cup used by
someone with the disease can also spread
the disease. The first symptoms usually appear 7 to 10
days after a person is exposed, although sometimes
people do not get sick for
up to 21 days after their last exposure.
How is pertussis diagnosed?
A doctor may think a
patient has pertussis based on their symptoms, however,
a culture or PCR test can help a
doctor confirm this. For testing, a swab is
taken from the back of the nose.
How can pertussis be prevented?
Although DTP or DTaP vaccine
(diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis) usually provides adequate protection against
pertussis to children, the effects of the vaccine wear off over time, leaving
most teens and adults at risk of the disease. However, a vaccine for teens and adults, called Tdap, is
recommended to give protection against pertussis in these age groups. Tdap is
given as a single “booster” dose. If
your child or adolescent (10 years of age or older) has not yet had a dose of
Tdap, contact your healthcare provider to discuss receiving this vaccine. If
your child is less than 10 years of age, they should be up-to-date with their
DTaP series (check with you provider if you are unsure).
Antibiotics are sometimes given to help
prevent illness in the contacts of someone with pertussis, or to
decrease
infectiousness in someone with pertussis.
After five days of treatment a case is no longer
contagious.
What should I do?
If
your child is symptomatic,
he/she should be
tested for pertussis by your family’s health care provider and
must begin
antibiotic treatment before returning to school. Please
contact your health care provider and bring
this advisory with you.
Students who are symptomatic and who have had close contact
with a case of pertussis will be excluded from
school until they have completed
5 days of appropriate antibiotic therapy.
Parents of the PdC School District:
If you have any questions, please call the school nurse, Karen
Reilly at 326-3780 or the Crawford County Health Department at 326-0229.
