SCHOOLS

Whooping cough reported at Marshall

Whooping cough reported at Marshall

Thurgood Marshall Middle School sent a message to parents this week reporting it has determined that one person at the school had a case of whooping cough. Whooping cough, also called pertussis by medical professionals, is highly contagious because it can be spread through the air. It can cause extreme cases of coughing fits resulting in a whooping sound from the patient.

The Marshall Middle School administration has taken the correct steps in notifying parents and all personnel at the school. In addition, only one case has been reported and this might be an isolated case. Parents and staff should be on the lookout for symptoms, which normally develop between five to 10 days after exposure, but can take as many as three weeks to occur, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website. 

Here is the text from the notification:  
“This is an important message regarding a case of pertussis, whooping cough, that has been identified at our school.

“Pertussis is spread in the air through coughing and sneezing. Symptoms include runny nose, slight fever and cough which becomes worse. Coughing spasms may follow with a whooping sound, gagging, vomiting, choking or turning blue. Infants and older adults are at highest risk for complications. The disease is treated with antibiotics. Call your doctor if your child has symptoms or is not fully immunized. Your doctor may want to test for pertussis, even if your child has a new symptom of runny nose, without a cough. To be fully immunized, all children over age 10 and adults (including those over age 64 years) must receive a booster shot at least once. Younger children must have 5 shots by school entry. The new California Immunization law requires a Tdap booster for school attendance for grades 7-12.

“For more information on Pertussis or county immunization clinics, call the County Health Department at 1-866-358-2966.”

You may also visit the CDC website page about pertussis/whooping cough: bit.ly/2eOhBdT.

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