Health officials, schools watch for coughs

 With school under way, Flathead City-County Health officials remain on alert for signs of whooping cough (pertussis) in classrooms.

Community Health Services Director Jody White said the department hasn’t had additional cases since a confirmed case that shut down a Whitefish day camp recently.

At that time, Joe Russell, director of the health department and county health officer, said he was concerned about a case so close to the start up of school. He said the county had about 70 cases this year.

A few more cases had cropped up during the summer, particularly in unimmunized children. The contagious bacterial infection begins with cold symptoms and an irritating cough that becomes much worse over one or two weeks

“We are really watching with schools starting and encouraging the schools to be really watching,” White said. “School nurses need to be really vigilant about kids who are coughing.”

She said school districts have been very cooperative in trying to stem outbreaks of pertussis or other diseases.

“The schools have been really good about children who are not up to date on their immunizations as required not being allowed to start school until they are done,” White said.  “We’ve been very busy this week.”

Health officials have stressed that adults working in the schools should get booster shots to protect against pertussis. Protection from the vaccine wanes over time, so adults and children need boosters to maintain immunity.