Two students potentially exposed other children and school staff to pertussis, also known as whooping cough, at two local schools, County Health and Human Services Agency officials said today.
The two new cases bring the region’s total for pertussis to 90 for 2012. A 6-year-old student who attends Christian Elementary School’s east campus in El Cajon and a 15-year-old student who attends Bonita Vista High School in the Sweetwater Union High School District were both diagnosed with the disease. The 6-year-old was unimmunized and the teenager was up to date with immunizations.
“Staying up to date with pertussis vaccinations is the best way to keep your children healthy especially as they are returning to school,” said Wilma Wooten, M.D., M.P.H., County Public Health Officer. “Unvaccinated children are at least eight times more likely to get pertussis and suffer more serious symptoms.”
The CDC recommends that children get doses of DTaP vaccine at the following ages: 2 months; 4 months; 6 months; 15 to 18 months; and 4 to 6 years. Health officials also recommend that preteens and adults get a Tdap booster. The ultimate goal is to prevent deaths that can result as a complication of pertussis. Infants under one year old are especially vulnerable.
Parents can obtain the vaccine series and the Tdap booster shot for themselves and their children through their primary care physicians. Local retail pharmacies offer vaccinations for a fee, and anyone who is not covered by a medical insurance plan can get the shot from a County Public Health Center at no cost.
A typical case of pertussis starts with a cough and runny nose for one to two weeks, followed by weeks to months of rapid coughing fits that sometimes end with a whooping sound. Fever, if present, is usually mild. The disease is treatable with antibiotics.
For more information about whooping cough and ongoing vaccination clinics, call the HHSA Immunization Branch at (866) 358-2966, or visit www.sdiz.org.
