A student at Goldenview Middle School in Anchorage tested positive for whooping cough, or pertussis, this week, according to Kathy Bell, director of healthcare services for the Anchorage School District.
“We had a call from a parent, which was very responsible of them, and they let us know that their child had pertussis, and the test came back positive,” Bell said. “There [were] a couple other students within the Anchorage School District who were not tested but had very similar symptoms.”
Those two students, with suspected cases of whooping cough, are at South High School and Bear Valley Elementary. Bell said all three students started medication, which is an antibiotic called Z-pak. But she said the test results, from a PCR test, can take up to seven days.
The district sent out an email asking families to watch for whooping cough symptoms. People with the infection may have a low grade fever and a cough at first. Later the cough may worsen and cause trouble breathing. People may make a whooping sound to gasp for air, which is how the infection was named.
Vaccinations for pertussis are required for students in Alaska, but families can apply for exemptions.
Bell said vaccination is the best way to protect families from whooping cough. It spreads easily through the air and the CDC recommends everyone get vaccinated for pertussis, including pregnant women.
Alaska is seeing a spike in whooping cough cases. This year there are 215 cases so far, according to the state’s division of public health. Most whooping cough cases in Alaska are among children who aren’t up to date with vaccinations, according to the division.
Bell said in her 25 years working for the district, she can only remember a few previous cases in the school district. She said the increase in cases this year may be related to lower vaccination rates during and after the COVID19 pandemic.
Whooping cough is most risky for babies. One third of babies under one who get whooping cough will be hospitalized for it and 1% of hospitalized babies will die from it.
“You should be worried if you have a very young newborn child that’s not yet vaccinated,” Bell said. She said it’s probably best to “keep them at home and don’t expose them to, take them out to malls and stores and family events until maybe this pertussis episode in our community has passed by us.”
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Rachel Cassandra covers health and wellness for Alaska Public Media. Reach her atrcassandra@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Rachel here.
