Whooping Cough Hits Christian Elementary School in Geneva

An outbreak of pertussis—commonly known as whooping cough—at Faith Christian Elementary School in Geneva does not pose a serious threat to the community, according to the Kane County Health Department.

"We are investigating an outbreak at one school, but otherwise our numbers for pertussis are lower than they were last year," said health department spokesman Tom Schlueter. "And our investigation into the outbreak is winding down."

County officials first learned of a student with pertussis Nov. 5, Schlueter said. Since then, six more cases have turned up at the school–four students and two others who were "epidemiologically linked" to the students, he added. They could be siblings, teachers or other people who have regular contact with the students.

Ruth Draper, principal of Faith Christian Elementary School, said the outbreak is contained and the students are recovering. "This is really a non-issue," she stated. "It began way before Thanksgiving, and the investigation is just about over."

The first student to catch pertussis had been attending school with it for several weeks because it was misdiagnosed as bronchitis, Draper explained. When that student was confirmed to have pertussis, he or she stayed home until the attending doctor granted permission to return to school. "If that student hadn't been misdiagnosed in the first place, we probably wouldn't have had the other cases," she noted.

Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, is caused by an airborne bacterium called bordetella pertussis. Symptoms include fever, bronchial congestion and a deep cough that can last anywhere from two weeks to six months, Schlueter said. It can kill infants or people with depressed immune systems, but is usually not fatal to adults or school-age children. Kane County has not recorded a death related to pertussis in the last seven years, he added.

The best way to avoid spreading it is to practice what Schlueter calls "good cough hygiene":  cover the mouth and nose while coughing and washing hands after every cough. Draper said teachers have been reminding students to wash their hands frequently and not to touch other people after they've just coughed. Staff routinely wipe down desks with disinfectant every day, even before the pertussis outbreak. "These days we're even wiping down pencils sometimes," she added.