BRISTOL HERALD COURIER
A case of pertussis, or whooping cough, has been diagnosed at E.B. Stanley Middle School in Washington County Virginia.
The FDA unexpectedly canceled a meeting for advisers to discuss the composition of next flu season’s vaccine.
“We have a 99% vaccination rate based on age for this vaccine but as a reminder upcoming 7th graders need a booster before next school year,” according to the school division.
“As a precautionary measure, we are taking the following steps to ensure the health and safety of students and staff:
- Our custodial staff will be increasing cleaning and disinfecting efforts throughout the building, with a specific focus on high-traffic areas.
- Our health services team will be closely monitoring for any signs of illness or symptoms associated with pertussis,” according to the division.
Pertussis is a contagious disease that may occur among persons of any age and is spread from person to person through the air by cough,” according to the letter signed by Health Director Meagan Helmick.
“Casual contact in classroom type settings is not usually significant enough to warrant routine preventive treatment. Close contact with a case, such as that which occurs in a household, requires antibiotic treatment for prevention of further illness among family members,” she wrote.
“Please monitor for signs of cough and illness. Pertussis usually begins like a cold, with a runny nose, sneezing and possibly mild fever followed later by cough. The cough typically persists for several weeks. Symptoms may include uncontrolled coughing spells accompanied by difficulty breathing or vomiting,” Helmick wrote.
If anyone in your household has been coughing for more than two weeks or less than two weeks but the cough has increased in severity or occurs in fits or spasms (especially if accompanied by difficulty breathing or vomiting), we recommend that they are evaluated by a health care provider, according to the letter.
Anyone diagnosed with pertussis will need to be excluded from school or work and not attend events or group settings until they have received five days antibiotic treatment or until 3 weeks after the start of the cough, if they choose not to take antibiotics.
Older children and adults are recommended to receive a single booster dose of pertussis-containing vaccine (the booster is required prior to entering the 7th grade).
Women who are pregnant or individuals who are around pregnant women or infants should also consider receiving the Tdap immunization to protect infants.
If the child is under 7 years of age and has not received the number of DTaP immunizations recommended for their age or if you are unsure of their immunization status, please contact your physician or the health department to schedule an appointment to update their immunizations.
Additional questions should be directed to the Washington County Health Department at 276-676-5604 and ask to speak to a public health nurse, according to the letter.