District Health concludes
pertussis investigation
By DANA
DUGAN
Express Staff Writer
South Central
District Health is finalizing its investigation into the pertussis outbreak in
Blaine County, which has been in evidence since September.
There were 181
suspected cases, of which 66 were confirmed as pertussis. Another 14 probable
cases conformed to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention case
definitions.
District Health
said other suspect cases might also have been pertussis, but would not be
reported as such since they don’t meet the strict CDC criteria. No new cases
were reported in the past week, the Health Department said in a press release.
In total,
students and teachers in five classrooms in Blaine County were recommended to
receive antibiotics. These recommendations were based on two symptomatic and
later confirmed cases in the classrooms.
Early screening
tests had problems of "false positives" due to cross contaminations,
Public Health Response Manager Tom Machala said. "The state laboratory was
quick to recommend changes."
Each time a
health care provider reported a suspected case of pertussis an investigation was
undertaken. South Central District Health commended all health care providers in
Blaine County for their efforts.
"Without the
help of the community at large, this outbreak would not have been controlled in
such a short period of time," Machala said.