Middle school cancels concert
A confirmed case of whooping cough (pertussis) at Kalispell Middle School prompted the Flathead City-County Health Department to ask the school to cancel Thursday night’s sixth-grade concert to prevent spreading the illness at a public gathering.
Principal Barry Grace sent out the cancellation notice a little after 3 p.m. Thursday. He said he hoped to reschedule the concert in the near future.
The cancellation notice followed a letter sent out earlier that afternoon to parents announcing that a person at the school had contracted pertussis, a highly contagious disease spread through the air when a person coughs. The disease as beginning with cold symptoms and an irritating cough that becomes much worse over one or two weeks.
The Kalispell pertussis case is in addition to eight cases of whooping cough in Swan Lake and Columbia Falls school districts.
Also on Thursday, a child at a Kalispell day care was confirmed with pertussis.
In addition to the concert cancellation, Kalispell Middle School contacted some parents to request that their children who may have been exposed to pertussis begin antibiotic treatment.
Pertussis became known as whooping cough because of the whooping sound made as the air refills the lungs after a long series of coughs. However, older children, adults and infants may not develop the whoop.
“If your child has been directly exposed, a staff person from the health department will contact you regarding precautions for your child,” the Kalispell Middle School letter said.
Exposed people, including those who had immunizations, are urged to contact their health providers for antibiotics as a precaution aimed at stopping the spread of the disease. Some of the people who have become ill in the Flathead Valley were immunized.
Grace said the school would “continue to practice heightened cleaning and sanitizing of district facilities in an attempt to prevent the spread of germs and bacteria in our classrooms, buildings and school buses” along with emphasizing the importance of proper hygiene which includes hand washing and covering coughs.
In the Columbia Falls and Swan River school districts, the ill people included children in the second through fifth grades and two adults. Health staffers have worked long hours since last Friday notifying people who had contact with the infected children and adults.
Officials recommend a vaccination as the best way to prevent infection. The vaccine is available from the department or health care providers for all ages over two months.
Montana law requires that children receive an immunization with diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTaP) prior to starting school. A pertussis booster is recommended but not required prior to starting middle school.