District mounts 'aggressive' fight against pertussis

 

Worthington City School District officials are battling what appears to be a whopping whooping cough outbreak among students, as well as two confirmed cases of a resistant staph infection.

Assistant Superintendent Paul Cynkar said there are 14 confirmed cases of pertussis, or whooping cough, at Thomas Worthington High School, six at Worthington Kilbourne High School and one at Wilson Hill Elementary School.

An additional 18 Thomas Worthington students have symptoms and are being tested for whooping cough, Cynkar said.

Cynkar and school administrators met with officials from the Columbus Public Health department Friday, Oct. 26.

"As soon as we were aware we had an outbreak, we sent letters out to parents and scheduled a meeting with Columbus Public Health," Cynkar said. "We met with four officials from the health department on Friday, and they told us routine cleaning is all that is necessary, because the pertussis bacteria is airborne, so the only way to diminish the transmission is for people to go on antibiotics as soon as possible and stay home for three to five days.

"We've been telling parents that any student who is identified as having a persistent cough should see their family physician," Cynkar said.

The identified cases of MRSA -- an acronym for methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus -- are the more common variety, not the invasive and dangerous strain that can force amputations, Cynkar said. One case was confirmed at each high school.

"The case at Worthington Kilbourne that was confirmed as MRSA was a member of the water polo team who had an infection on his foot," he said. "The health department said the student could come to school as long as the wound is bandaged and clothed. He was not in the water with other students."

Cynkar said the second case of MRSA was at Thomas Worthington, confirmed Monday, Oct. 29.

"We talked to Columbus Public Health and they told us that extra cleaning measures and hand sanitizers would be a good idea, but neither will protect students completely from pertussis or MRSA bacteria," Cynkar said. "The public-health officials did say that any individual with a persistent cough should seek medical care to rule out pertussis before returning to school, and that those students referred for medical testing would stay out of school and co-curricular participation until the results of the tests are given to the school nurse."

Cynkar said Columbus Public Health recommended those who are identified as close contacts of people diagnosed with pertussis be given an antibiotic to "decrease the transmission of the disease."

Infants routinely are immunized against pertussis, with a booster shot in kindergarten, but many high school students have not had an additional booster shot, recommended for ages 12 and up, Cynkar said.

"You don't find many kids under 12 who get this, because they have had the booster shot," Cynkar said. "We are looking into the possibility of offering the booster shot at our high schools. The public health officials told us they would try to get that scheduled.

"We're aggressively trying to get this problem solved," he said.

Ken Nally, assistant principal at Worthington Kilbourne, said, "We have taken some additional precautionary steps here at Kilbourne.

"Our custodial staff has been diligent in the evenings cleaning railing and doorknobs and handrails, and we installed two hand sanitizer machines in the commons area," Nally said. "The locker rooms have been thoroughly cleaned also, even though we know pertussis is spread through coughing and nasal spray. But this is cold and flu season, too, so all the extra cleaning may help to prevent those."

Nally said the first case of pertussis was confirmed two weeks ago at Kilbourne, but as of Oct. 26, the number of cases still was confirmed at six.

Pertussis begins with cold-like symptoms, then proceeds to a severe, constant cough that can end with a loud gasp, or "whoop," especially in younger children, according to public health officials. There usually is little or no fever, officials said.

"The best thing we can do is inform staff and tell students if you have a severe cough, you need to stay home and see a doctor," Nally said.

Nally said the health department recommended the hand sanitizers as "great general health practice."

He said parents with questions may call school nurse Barb Beck at 614-883-2563, or Patricia Dietsch, manager for communicable disease prevention at Columbus Public Health, at 614-645-6563.

"We've been telling parents that any

student who is

identified as having

a persistent cough should see their

family physician."

--Paul Cynkar