Pennsylvania School District Reports Whooping Cough Outbreak

A Pennsylvania school district is reporting an outbreak of whooping cough.

Carlisle Area School District, in southern Pennsylvania about 130 miles west of Philadelphia, issued a letter to parents confirming 10 cases of the disease, according to local news.

The letter, authored by the system’s superintendent, reports that the district has upped its sanitation protocols and alerted students who may have had a close contact with an ill student. 

Whooping cough, also called pertussis, is caused by a bacteria that’s spread through coughing or sneezing, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Milder symptoms include coughing, sneezing, a low fever, and a runny nose. However the disease can progress to vomiting after coughing, uncontrolled coughing, and struggling to breathe, hence the eponymous “whoop” sound as people struggle to regain their breath after coughing. 

While anyone can fall severely ill from whooping cough, it is especially dangerous for babies in particular. They might not exhibit coughing behavior, but they will still struggle to breathe, even though it looks like they just have the common cold. 

According to the CDC, a third of babies younger than a year old who get whooping cough will need to be hospitalized,, and one out of 100 babies who are hospitalized end up dying. 

Whooping cough is usually treated with antibiotics, but this disease is preventable by getting the whooping cough vaccine. The CDC recommends that very young children get the DTaP vaccine, which protects against whooping cough, at the age of two, four, and six months, at ages 15 through 18 months, and at ages four through six years, for a total of five shots.

This outbreak comes as the amount of children with exemptions that allow them to go to school without all of the usual vaccines has reached an all time high, according to U.S. health officials. 

While every state requires children to be vaccinated against diseases like measles, mumps, polio, and whooping cough, parents can also apply for an exemption. All states have exemption policies for children who cannot get vaccinated because of a health condition, and most states allow for religious exemptions.