ETHS Student Diagnosed with Whooping Cough

The following letter to the ETHS community was posted on the school’s website:

A student at ETHS has been diagnosed with and treated for pertussis (whooping cough).

Pertussis is a highly infectious and usually mild illness that is easily transmitted through coughing and sneezing and may last for several months. Symptoms of pertussis usually appear 5-10 days after exposure, but can take as long as 21 days to appear. It is possible for people to be infected with pertussis even if they have been vaccinated against it.

The initial symptoms of pertussis are similar to those of the common cold: runny nose, low-grade fever and a mild occasional cough, which can become severe and spasmodic - with a distinctive “whooping” sound - and can progress to vomiting between bouts of coughing.

Patients with pertussis should be isolated from day care, school, work, and public gatherings until at least 5 days after the start of appropriate antibiotic therapy to limit further transmission. Most people recover completely from pertussis, but complications from the disease can be severe in high-risk groups, especially infants under one year, and children who have not been fully immunized against the disease or children with weakened immune systems.

Since students may have been exposed to pertussis, we want parents to remain alert for symptoms. If your child develops symptoms it is important that you contact your doctor immediately for testing and antibiotic treatment as appropriate. In addition, frequent hand washing and respiratory hygiene (e.g. covering your cough, coughing into tissues, disposing of tissues promptly) are important practices that help to limit the spread of infection.

If you have questions, please contact the ETHS Health Service Office at 847-424-7260 or the Evanston Health Department at 847-866-2962.