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Whooping Cough Outbreak at Local High School October 28, 2002 DAVIS -- There's a developing health threat in the Sacramento area. Officials at Davis High School are calling an outbreak of whooping cough a very serious situation. A letter went out to all Davis High parents last week, telling them about the outbreak. At that time 650 students had received actual "exposure letters". Now the school says, since the letter was written six days ago, another 400 exposure letters have gone out. "I think it's premature to say we have a handle on it. We're still uncovering cases," said Susan Hawkins, school nurse. Davis High School students, staff and parents are on alert. "The school is supplying each teacher with tissue and hand sanitizer. That's pretty cool, said student Annie Duvrovskaya. Students are being told that whooping cough is very serious, and highly contagious. The bacterial infection is transmitted through casual contact. "Close contact for pertussis is defined as an hour in the same room, sharing the same lunch table, participating in contact sports together. So, yeah, it doesn't have to be kissing," Hawkins said. The school says it's had multiple confirmed cases since August and is awaiting confirmation on many more. "I don't have a lot of concern about it. My daughter was vaccinated as a child. There were a lot of kids who weren't." said parent Betsy Rose. Parents shouldn't feel comforted by their students' childhood immunizations. The whooping cough vaccine wears off, and by high school, a teenager is no longer protected. "We didn't see it as a problem. We got the letter about a month-and-a-half after she got sick, so we didn't think I had a problem," said Students and parents also need to know the incubation period can be as long as 42 days after exposure. "I was scared because I didn't want my son to take days off because he got sick with that," said parent Mable Collins. Whooping cough is called pertussis by doctors. It makes otherwise healthy teens and adults extremely sick, but it is not considered deadly. It is a grave danger for infants, young children, and seniors. The symptoms are cold-like: runny or stuffy nose, maybe a mild fever, headache, fatigue. Then the cough develops, and it gets to the point where those who have it choke, gag, or vomit. Those exposed are urged to see their doctors and antibiotics are typically recommended as a prevention. Copyright © 2002, KTXL |
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