Whooping cough found in Montco middle school

By Bonnie Cook, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
Posted: February 13, 2012

A ninth-grader at Pennfield Middle School in the North Penn School District in Montgomery County has been diagnosed with whooping cough, an official said this afternoon.

The student came to school Monday morning, mentioned he had had whooping cough last week, and was immediately sent home, said Christine Liberaski, the North Penn School District's manager of school and community engagement.

In a letter to parents posted today on the school district's website, district officials warned, "Your child may have been exposed." It advised parents to make sure students have had vaccinations against whooping cough, and to watch children carefully for symptoms such as runny nose, and sudden, uncontrollable bursts of coughing that sometimes cause vomiting. The symptoms should be reported to a physician.

Whooping cough, a highly contagious respiratory disease, is caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis. It can be serious in children up to seven years of age and in those not immunized against the disease.

Bacteria are spread from contact with the infected droplets of a coughing or sneezing person.

Liberaski said the Montgomery County Health Department was aware of the case. Frank X. Custer, spokesman for the county, said the student's was the sixth such case reported to the health department this season.

The five others were all in the North Penn area, Custer said.

"Health Department officials are not alarmed. This is not termed an outbreak," Custer said. "They are following their protocols and have everything under control."

There were 29 cases of pertussis reported to county health officials in 2007, 55 in 2008, 93 in 2009, 133 in 2010, and 47 in 2011, Custer said.

Liberaski said the district sees a handful of cases each year. "This is pretty typical for us," she said.

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