Spokane County schools notifying families about possible exposure to whooping cough

SPOKANE, Wash – As whooping cough cases climb throughout Spokane County, schools are sending notes home with students about possible exposures to the infection.

The Spokane Regional Health District said Tuesday there have been 59 cases reported with 30 possible exposures in K-12 schools and childcare centers. Spokane Public Schools says that district has eight confirmed cases this school year.

Schools are notifying SRHD if there is a suspected case. The health district provides the schools with a template letter to send to families of people who have possibly been exposed.

SRHD says once a case has been confirmed, they recommend schools follow this protocol to notify students and staff:

For a single case:

In grade schools: notify the affected classroom(s).In middle schools: notify the affected grade or notify school-wide as appropriate, e.g.,multi-grade classes.In high schools: notify the affected grade or notify school-wide as appropriate.

For two more cases in the same grade where the cases are in separate classrooms:

In grade schools: notify the affected grade.In middle schools: notify the affected grade.In high schools: notify the affected grade or notify school-wide as appropriate.

For two or more cases in separate grades:

In grade schools: notify school-wide.In middle schools: notify school-wide.In high schools: notify school-wide.

The letter explains the symptoms of whooping cough, clinically known as pertussis, as what families should do if they believe someone has been exposed.

It also recommends that people make sure their vaccinations are up to date.

In Washington, students cannot be excluded from school if there’s a whooping cough outbreak and their vaccinations are not up to date. However, if there is an outbreak of measles, anyone who is not vaccinated or does not have an approved measles immunization exemption would have to stay home for 21 days after their last exposure.