Clear Lake student diagnosed with pertussis

County, school advise parents

    The Cerro Gordo County Department of Public Health has investigated nine cases of pertussis over the past week, including one in Clear Lake.
    School officials were alerted to a Clear Creek Elementary School student diagnosed with pertussis (whooping cough) last week.  School Nurse Julie Livingston said the

district was contacted by the health department after the diagnosis was made.  The student had been in school and was sent home.  Protocol directs an identified student is to be absent for five days after antibiotics have been started.  Letters from the county health department were sent home with students, according to Livingston. The nurse noted the school district experienced the same situation in 2005.
    Disease Prevention and Investigation Officials urge individuals to check their immunization records to make sure they are up-to-date with the pertussis vaccinations.
    “Individuals who are around infants and young children such as parents, siblings, grandparents, childcare providers and teachers need to make sure they are vaccinated,” says Karen Crimmings, Disease Prevention & Investigation service manager of the Cerro Gordo County Health Department.
    The best way to prevent pertussis is to be up-to-date on pertussis vaccinations. Children should receive the pertussis-containing vaccine series beginning at two months of age, and routinely complete five vaccinations before starting school. By adolescence, immunity from the pre-school vaccination series begins to wane. Adolescents should receive a one-time dose of tetanus-diphtheria-acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccine at age 11 or 12. Adults 19 years and older who have not previously received Tdap vaccine, should - Read More Via e-Edition