Flathead County's pertussis case total reaches 47

The Flathead City-County Health Department announced Tuesday that local cases of pertussis (whooping cough) reached 47.

That total including 44 confirmed by lab tests and three diagnosed by association with confirmed cases.

Two new schools — Columbia Falls Junior High and Hedges Elementary School in Kalispell — had infected students, requiring an expanded calling of students or adults in contact with them who now need to take antibiotics. 

As of Tuesday morning, 14 schools and nine school districts had students or adult staff with pertussis.

Health officials said more people with symptoms have tests pending.

Others schools confirmed with cases earlier were Ruder and Gateway Glacier elementary schools in Columbia Falls, Swan River School, Bigfork Middle School, Evergreen Middle School, Trinity Lutheran School, Kalispell Middle School, Glacier High School, Peterson Elementary School in Kalispell, Helena Flats School, Smith Valley School and Cayuse Prairie School.

As of Friday, the Montana Department of Health and Human Services reported 206 cases statewide.

Ravalli County led the state with 51 cases. Flathead had the most new cases in the last two weeks while Dawson County had the most cases compared to population.

The Montana department counted 18 jurisdictions with 206 people infected compared to 56 cases for the same period in 2011. No one has died from pertussis but five people have been hospitalized in Montana.

Vaccine for pertussis remains available for those 2 months of age and older. The health department has additional information at 751-8110.

At last week’s Flathead City-County Board of Health meeting, Jody White, director of the Community Health Division, provided an update on the health department’s response to the pertussis outbreak as of May 17. 

Nursing staffers at that point had performed 30 case investigations while other staffers helped call 127 household/close contacts, 1,032 school contacts and 114 other contacts. 

Cases were listed on a board by schools, last report date and contact and grade level.

County Health Officer Joe Russell and White said they have found no index or source of infection between schools. White said they still were investigating a large overnight party and one baseball game as potential sources. According to Russell, outbreaks usually emanate from the adult population.

“We have a large reservoir of unimmunized people — they’re called adults,” he said. “They may be asymptomatic or they may think they only have a cold.”

He said this and an outbreak a few years ago started with unimmunized adults. Russell said the department will crusade this summer to encourage  teachers and staffers at schools to get immunized for pertussis.  

Laws don’t require immunization of adults in schools.