Pennfield Middle School in Hatfield Township confirmed a case of Pertussis, better known as whooping cough.
A ninth grade student at the school was diagnosed with the highly contagious respiratory disease. Christine Liberaski, the North Penn School District’s manager of school and community engagement, says Pennfield is the fourth school in the district to have a student come down with whooping cough.
Montgomery and Bridle Path elementary schools and the North Penn High School also had confirmed cases of Pertussis within the last three weeks, according to Liberaski.
It’s the latest case of pertussis in the area. Last week, the Cherry Hill School district confirmed two cases of whooping cough at the Joyce Kilmer Elementary School and the Richard Stockton Elementary School. Officials also announced a whooping cough outbreak at the Hillsdale Elementary School in West Chester. Finally, a case of whooping cough was confirmed at Great Valley High School in Chester County.
Pertussis is spread through the air when an infected person sneezes or coughs. It begins with cold symptoms and a cough that becomes much worse over one to two weeks.
Symptoms usually include a long series of coughs (coughing fits) followed by a whooping noise. However, older children, adults and very young infants may not develop the whoop. There is generally no fever, officials say.
People with Pertussis may have a series of coughs followed by vomiting, turning blue, or difficulty catching their breath. The cough is often worse at night and cough medicines usually do not help alleviate the cough. The disease can be very severe and, although deaths are rare, they do occur, especially in infants less than one year of age, according to the health department.
