Case Of Whooping Cough Reported At Deer Park High School

DEER PARK, NY - A case of pertussis, better known as whooping cough, was found at Deer Park High School this week. The news of the "highly contagious" was announced in a letter to the community sent on Monday by Suffolk County Director of Public Health Dr. Shaheda Iftikhar.

Whopping cough is easily spread through the air by cough. Children and adults who are up to date with vaccinations can still develop the disease since immunity to whooping cough wanes over time. The disease is especially dangerous to infants who are not fully immune.

According to Iftikhar, the best defense to prevent the illness is "up to date vaccination against Pertussis."

Pregnant women in their third trimester can pass along the disease to their newborn infant and are recommended to receive a booster dose of vaccine.

The three stages of infection include:

• Mild upper respiratory symptoms, low-grade fever, slight cough that lasts one to two weeks (mimics a cold)
• Spasmodic coughing episodes sometimes followed by long whooping sound, may also have vomiting/gagging, apnea and facial color changes after coughing episodes, lasting six or more weeks
• Although the infection is not contagious after appropriate antibiotic treatment, coughing episodes may persist for weeks to months (a.k.a. cough of 100 days)

If you spot these symptoms, a Pertussis test can be performed using a special nasal-throat swab at doctor's office or hospital emergency room.

If someone is exposed to whooping cough, it can take up to 21 days for symptoms to develop. Incubation may rarely be as long as 42 days.

Early treatment with the appropriate antibiotic can eliminate disease transmission.

For more information, visit the Center for Disease Control and Prevention at cdc.gov. Parents or their physician may contact the Division of Disease Control at 631-854-0333 if they have any questions.