SPOKANE, Wash - Two cases of whooping cough have been confirmed in Spokane, all in less than 24 hours. One case was confirmed at Rogers High School and the other at Garry Middle School. Last year, Washington state had the highest number of cases in six decades.
According to school leaders, there has been seven positive cases of pertussis in the Spokane Public Schools so far this year. Officials at the Health District say the pace of new whooping cough cases is actually slowing, but our community at large is still seeing about 15 cases a month, which is higher than normal.
Health officials are not surprised to see it pop up in schools.
"When we see it at a high school or a secondary level, it becomes one of those real concerns because how are we going to get the word out to the families, the size, just because of the magnitude of that," says Laurie Moyer a SPS Health Services Coordinator.
Once they found out about the pertussis school leaders say they alerted everyone in the district including phone messages home, staff was also notified.
The students who have pertussis will not be in school until they are done taking their antibiotics, which takes five days. The district is encouraging everyone to consistently wash their hands.
Both school nurses and the health district say the best way to slow the spread of whooping cough is getting a vaccination. Officials with the health department officials say the risk of getting infected will remain for several more months.
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