Four More Whooping Cough Cases Reported by Radnor

There are now seven reported cases of whooping cough at Radnor High School, according to a new update from the school district.

A letter posted Thursday by Kevin Kane, director of student services, said the four more students have contracted pertussis, added to the two cases previously reported Monday and one case in March.

“The district has been working closely with a representative from the Pennsylvania Department of Health to monitor and respond to this issue,” Kane writes in the letter. “Currently, of the seven students at RHS with confirmed cases, we can confirm six were vaccinated.”

According to the district, a total of seven students of the Radnor High School student body are exempt from vaccinations for medical or religious reasons.

The following actions have been recommended by the Pennsylvania Department of Health:

• Children should be observed over the next two weeks for any symptoms such as a running nose, sudden, uncontrollable bursts or spells of coughing that persist and sometimes cause vomiting. These symptoms should be reported immediately to your pediatrician.
• If your child comes down with cold symptoms that include a cough, your child should be evaluated by his/her pediatrician. Evaluation should include a nasopharyngeal culture for pertussis.
• Children with pertussis, if their medical condition allows, may return to school and activities five days after starting appropriate antibiotics and must continue taking the antibiotics until completed.
• All household members and close contacts of a confirmed pertussis case should receive preventative antibiotics regardless of their age or vaccination status.

Parents with questions about pertussis are urged to call the Pennsylvania Department of Health at 1-877-PA-HEALTH.