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Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: http://www.djournal.com/pages/story.asp?ID=273686&pub=1&div=News
Whooping cough case confirmed in Alcorn County
5/20/2008 7:32:47 AM
Daily Journal
BY LENA MITCHELL
Daily Journal Corinth Bureau
CORINTH - Parents of students on the Kossuth campus - elementary, middle and high school - have been notified that a child in the middle school has pertussis, an illness commonly known as whooping cough.
Whooping cough is a very contagious disease, and a severe case can lead to death, particularly in young infants.
"Thursday the school nurse sent out notices telling families what whooping cough is and what symptoms to be looking for," said Stacy Suggs, Alcorn County School District superintendent.
Any child with the illness is required to stay out of school until a doctor approves a return. With school ending Thursday, Suggs said the student will not return before the end of the term.
This is the first reported case of the illness in Alcorn County, although another suspected case has been reported, said Dr. Robert Trotter, District 2 health officer for the Mississippi Department of Health.
Mississippi had 19 reported cases of pertussis for January through April 2008, compared to 10 cases for all of 2007.
Whooping cough is treated with antibiotics, but neither the health department nor the U.S. Centers for Disease Control recommends giving antibiotics to classrooms full of children to prevent them contracting the illness.
"We did not do it because there is no cause," Trotter said. Preventive treatment is done for people in the same household as the person diagnosed with pertussis, and "sometimes other individuals in close enough contact."
Whooping cough usually begins with symptoms similar to flu: runny nose, sneezing, fever, mild cough. Then coughing starts and won't stop. The diagnosis must be confirmed by laboratory tests.
"What we don't want is people to take a list of symptoms and try to diagnose themselves," Trotter said. "Go to a doctor if there's any persistent indication of illness."
Trotter emphasized that an effective new vaccine, called TdaP, can be taken past the age of 6, the cutoff age of the old vaccine. Children 12 and older, as well as adults, should check with their health care provider or health department for a recommendation about being vaccinated.
"A reason the disease is on the increase is the effectiveness of the early vaccine wanes through the years," Trotter said. "Some vaccines confer lifelong immunity, but pertussis especially is one where immunity wanes after some years."
Contact Daily Journal Corinth Bureau reporter Lena Mitchell at 287-9822 or lena.mitchell@djournal.com.
Appeared originally in the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, 5/20/2008, section A , page 2
Whooping cough case confirmed in Alcorn County
5/20/2008 7:32:47 AM
Daily Journal
BY LENA MITCHELL
Daily Journal Corinth Bureau
CORINTH - Parents of students on the Kossuth campus - elementary, middle and high school - have been notified that a child in the middle school has pertussis, an illness commonly known as whooping cough.
Whooping cough is a very contagious disease, and a severe case can lead to death, particularly in young infants.
"Thursday the school nurse sent out notices telling families what whooping cough is and what symptoms to be looking for," said Stacy Suggs, Alcorn County School District superintendent.
Any child with the illness is required to stay out of school until a doctor approves a return. With school ending Thursday, Suggs said the student will not return before the end of the term.
This is the first reported case of the illness in Alcorn County, although another suspected case has been reported, said Dr. Robert Trotter, District 2 health officer for the Mississippi Department of Health.
Mississippi had 19 reported cases of pertussis for January through April 2008, compared to 10 cases for all of 2007.
Whooping cough is treated with antibiotics, but neither the health department nor the U.S. Centers for Disease Control recommends giving antibiotics to classrooms full of children to prevent them contracting the illness.
"We did not do it because there is no cause," Trotter said. Preventive treatment is done for people in the same household as the person diagnosed with pertussis, and "sometimes other individuals in close enough contact."
Whooping cough usually begins with symptoms similar to flu: runny nose, sneezing, fever, mild cough. Then coughing starts and won't stop. The diagnosis must be confirmed by laboratory tests.
"What we don't want is people to take a list of symptoms and try to diagnose themselves," Trotter said. "Go to a doctor if there's any persistent indication of illness."
Trotter emphasized that an effective new vaccine, called TdaP, can be taken past the age of 6, the cutoff age of the old vaccine. Children 12 and older, as well as adults, should check with their health care provider or health department for a recommendation about being vaccinated.
"A reason the disease is on the increase is the effectiveness of the early vaccine wanes through the years," Trotter said. "Some vaccines confer lifelong immunity, but pertussis especially is one where immunity wanes after some years."
Contact Daily Journal Corinth Bureau reporter Lena Mitchell at 287-9822 or lena.mitchell@djournal.com.
Appeared originally in the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, 5/20/2008, section A , page 2