Whooping Cough Cases Were Cleared

Whooping cough cases reported in the Greendale Public Schools in November and December have been cleared.

Five cases of whooping cough, or pertussis, were reported in a fifth-grade classroom at over a six-week period, said Susan Shepeard, director of health at Greendale Health Department.

Pertussis, most commonly known as the whooping cough, is a highly-contagious bacterial disease that causes severe and uncontrollable coughing fits, making it difficult to breathe. The upper respiratory infection is serious and, in extreme cases, can cause permanent disability or death, especially in infants. If the whooping cough goes untreatd it can approximately last six week.

Most of the children who were diagnosed at College Park Elementary were fully immunized for pertusiss, said Shepeard. Those who weren’t were still up-to-date with their vaccines. The pertusiss vaccine cannot be given before the age of 11. Even thereafter the vaccine’s effectiveness is only 80%, said Shepeard.

Shepeard said that several other cases of pertusiss were being reported throughout the state and the nation.

The health department and the school district worked together to make sure letters and e-mails were sent out to parents informing them of the outbreak, said Shepeard.

The health department will need to send an after-action-report to the state because it issued an emergency outbreak.

Staff spent 111 hours in December towards the outbreak.

"With all the effort it never spread outside the classroom or school," Shepeard said.