The Pleasant Valley School District has notified families that a person at the high school has a confirmed case of whooping cough (Pertussis).

The district distributed a letter and fact sheet provided to the school districts by the Pennsylvania Department of Health starts by letting parents know that they or their child may have been exposed to a person with the illness.

The letter detailed facts about the disease and important information on the diagnosis and treatment.

Pertussis is a highly contagious, airborne disease that is spread when the infected person sneezes or coughs. The person first presents with common cold symptoms, but will develop a cough. The symptoms will get progressively worse over a one- to two-week period. Often the person infected will develop a persistent cough or “coughing fits” followed by a whooping sound. Sometimes these coughing spells are followed by vomiting, the face turning blue and difficulty breathing.

The cough is usually worse in the evening and may be accompanied by “apnea” which is when a person stops breathing for short periods of time.

While pertussis rarely results in death its symptoms can be severe and last for weeks to several months. Early treatment with antibiotics may help to lessen the severity of the illness, but will definitely shorten the time that the infected person is contagious thereby helping to reduce the spread of the disease.

“We want our families to have all of the information and to be informed,” said Joshua Kreb, Director of Support Services for the district. “We encourage anyone with questions to contact the school nurses. There is also a lot of information available through the Department of Health and the Center for Disease Control.”

The Pennsylvania Department of Health Fact Sheet for Pertussis (Whooping Cough) lists the following information:

What is pertussis?

Pertussis, or whooping cough, is a contagious disease involving the lungs and airways. It is caused by a bacterium, Bordetella pertussis, which is found in the nose, mouth, and throat of an infected person. More than 100 cases are reported each year in Pennsylvania, mostly in children. Other cases of pertussis occur but are not diagnosed, especially in adults.

Who gets pertussis?

Pertussis can occur at any age.

How do you get pertussis?

People get pertussis by breathing in droplets from the nose and mouth of already infected persons. Older children and adults may have milder disease and may spread the disease to unimmunized infants and young children. An infected person is most contagious at the beginning of the disease. If untreated, an infected person can spread pertussis for up to 3 weeks after coughing starts. Antibiotic treatment limits contagiousness to five days after treatment is started.

How soon do symptoms start?

Symptoms usually start 5 to 10 days after exposure to another person with the disease, but may take as long as 20 days to start.

What are the symptoms of pertussis?

Pertussis begins as a mild illness like the common cold. Sneezing, runny nose, low-grade fever, and mild coughing progress to severe coughing. Some persons have episodes of rapid coughing followed by a high-pitched whoop as they take a deep breath. However, not everyone with pertussis has a whoop, especially very young infants. Severe cough may continue for many weeks despite proper treatment. Symptoms may be milder in older children and adults. However, pertussis can be a serious disease, especially in infants and young children. Complications can include pneumonia, dehydration, seizures, encephalopathy (a disorder of the brain), and death.

How is pertussis treated?

Antibiotics such as erythromycin may be useful early in the disease. Antibiotics are particularly helpful in reducing spread of the disease to other persons.

However, once severe symptoms begin, antibiotics may not have any effect on symptoms.