7 cases of whooping cough at Radnor HS

Seven cases of whooping cough have been diagnosed among students at Radnor High School in recent weeks.

The cases of the contagious respiratory disease were confirmed between March 20 and Thursday, the Radnor Township School District said in a letter posted on its website.

An additional case of whooping cough, also known as pertussis, was reported in a Radnor Middle School student in February, the school district said.

"We will continue to be especially alert and attentive to possible symptoms in students and staff members in all of our schools and we ask that all district parents and guardians do the same," the letter said.

The Delaware County school district says it has "intensified" daily cleaning and disinfecting efforts, and school nurses are sharing information with students about preventing illnesses from spreading.

The school district said it had confirmed that six of the seven high school students recently diagnosed with pertussis had been vaccinated.

In total, seven students at Radnor High School are exempt from vaccination for medical or religious reasons, the district said. Officials said the school nurse had called the parents of those students to discuss the importance of vaccination.

Delaware County does not have a county health department, which would usually report on an outbreak of an infectious disease. The school district said it was working with the Pennsylvania Department of Health to monitor and respond to the cases.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls whooping cough a "highly contagious" illness. It spreads when an infected person coughs or sneezes.

Symptoms - which include violent and rapid coughing, a low-grade fever, runny nose and other cold-like symptoms - usually develop five to 10 days after exposure.

The CDC says immunization is the most effective way to prevent the disease, but vaccines aren't 100-percent effective.

Even those fully vaccinated can become infected if pertussis is circulating in a community, though vaccinated people usually experience less-severe cases, according to the agency.

Children who exhibit symptoms should be evaluated by their doctors, the school district told parents.

All household members and close contacts of the students with confirmed pertussis cases should receive preventative antibiotics, even if they have been vaccinated.