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Our Opinion: As Kirby Center approaches pearl anniversary, it hasn’t lost luster

Crestwood School District has had a second confirmed case of pertussis, or whooping cough, Acting Superintendent Brian Waite confirmed, while Lake-Lehman School District has notified parents of a &#8220;probable&#8221; case at the junior/senior high school.Waite said the new case was at Fairview Elementary. The first had occurred at Rice Elementary and had been confirmed Jan. 6.&#8220;We sent out a letter again reminding parents of symptoms to watch for and steps to take,&#8221; Waite said.The state requires children to receive multiple vaccinations before entering school, including one against pertussis. Waite said he did not know if the students who developed the disease had been vaccinated, but noted the law allows exemptions for religious reasons or if a student has a compromised immune system or other medical reasons.While the cases at Crestwood are confirmed, a notice to parents and guardians posted on the Lake-Lehman website says the case at the high school &#8220;is probable and not confirmed,&#8221; but that &#8220;we feel as though it is necessary to inform you of the situation.&#8221;The Lake-Lehman letter offers some details similar to those provided in the Crestwood letter, including:&#8226; &#8220;Pertussis is a highly contagious disease involving the lungs and airways. It is caused by the bacteria Bordetella pertussis which is found in the nose, mouth and throat of an infected person. More than 200 cases are reported each year in Pennsylvania, mostly children.&#8221; The symptoms are often milder in adults and less likely to be reported.&#8226; Pertussis can occur at any age. The disease is spread by airborne droplets from the nose and mouth of an infected person, who is most contagious in the early stages and can spread the disease for up to three weeks after coughing starts. Antibiotics can limit contagiousness to five days after treatment begins.&#8226; The bacteria can incubate in a person for five to 20 days before symptoms develop. Symptoms usually start similar to those from a mild cold but can develop into severe coughing, including the high pitched whoop that gives the disease its common name.Geisinger Health System Pediatrics Chair Michael Ryan said that while the antibiotics reduce contagiousness there is no real cure for pertussis other than time and respiratory support such as providing oxygen and cough medicines.&#8220;It can be fatal,&#8221; Ryan said, noting the mortality rated &#8220;may be as high as 10 percent,&#8221; with the greatest risk for infants under one year of age.Getting through the disease can be difficult even with treatment, he said. &#8220;In Japan whooping cough is translated into &#8216;100 days of coughing&#8217;. You really cough over 100 days, and the first two weeks you don&#8217;t sleep more than two hours at a time.Ryan also noted that the vaccinations are not lifetime protection and that even as adults people need periodic booster shots. The vaccine is usually administered at the ages of two months, four months and six months, followed by booster shots 18 months, kindergarten and sixth grade.&#8220;The immunization is probably only good for at least five years, no longer than 10 years, so you need to get it frequently.&#8221; Parents and grandparents expecting to be around newborns are urged to get a booster shot to protect the children.Even with vaccinations, a person can contract pertussis, though the vaccine lowers the odds, and if infected, a vaccinated person will usually have milder symptoms, Ryan said.Without vaccination, pertussis can cause coughing so severe that &#8220;at the end of all that you can&#8217;t breath anymore,&#8221; Ryan said. &#8220;Very often at the end of a coughing spell people pass out.&#8221; People sometimes throw up after enduring so much severe coughing.Death comes when the symptoms cause respiratory failure, though Ryan also noted that in infants the coughing spasms have sometimes caused ruptured blood vessels in the brain.The appearance of cases now is odd, Ryan said. &#8220;This is not the usual time of year for whooping cough in Pennsylvania. It&#8217;s typically a summertime disease, not winter.&#8221;The lack of a quick cure and the severity of the symptoms are strong reasons to make sure people are vaccinated, Ryan added. Vaccination rates had dipped about a decade ago when people feared autism was caused by vaccines, but several studies have shown there is no link.&#8220;Pertussis outbreaks are not unusual,&#8221; Ryan said. &#8220;We see thousands of cases nationwide each year, and it is a totally preventable disease if people just get vaccinated.&#8221;<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Mark Guydishmguydish@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish</shirttailMeta></div>

Crestwood School District confirms second case of ‘whooping cough’