Another Indiana County School District has confirmed a case of pertussis, better known as whooping cough.
In a notice on the Marion Center School District website, the district said that a high school student had a confirmed case of pertussis. This marks the third school district that has confirmed a case of pertussis in the district. Penns Manor School District officials sent a letter home to parents earlier this month saying that a child was exposed to whooping cough at the school, and later on, the Indiana School District reported that they had a few children exposed to whooping cough.
Notices from the Pennsylvania Department of Health have been sent to parents and were also made available on the respective district websites. That notice says that pertussis is a very contagious disease of the lungs and airways and caused by bacteria found in the nose, mouth and throat of an infected person. Symptoms can start between 6 and 20 days after infection, and may feel like the common cold at first, but will progress to severe coughing fits. That could be followed by a whooping sound if the infected person is taking a long breath. Pertussis can occur at any age, but the Health Department says that most cases of severe disease and death occur in infants younger than six months.
For the prevention of pertussis, the department of health recommends immunizations as the best prevention method, and antibiotics are recommended as well for anyone in close contact with someone infected, especially if they live with a baby less than a year old. Anyone suspected of having pertussis should stay away from young children and infants until they have received at least five days of antibiotic treatment.
