Posted May 11, 2022. Past health advisories and alerts are archived for historical purposes and are not maintained or updated.
Current Situation:
Cases of B. pertussis have been increasing in Spokane County for the past few months. Since March 1, 2022, there have been 14 cases of pertussis which were either lab confirmed or probable and several more suspected, but not lab confirmed. The cases have primarily been clustered in the Deer Park, Mead and North Spokane areas, but B. pertussis is likely circulating in other parts of the county as well. Many of these cases have been in school-aged children and adolescents and most of them have been fully vaccinated for pertussis. Although the vaccine for pertussis provides protection against severe illness and hospitalizations, it does not always protect from being infected, especially if someone is in a school, home or other setting with pertussis exposure.
Actions Requested:
- Please be aware of pertussis circulating in the community and TEST (PCR only, serology is not recommended) anyone symptomatic or exposed. Treatment should begin at time of testing for classical symptoms or symptomatic contacts of cases.
- Please TREAT all cases of pertussis and offer prophylactic treatment to all household members to reduce spread in our community. (Preferred treatment is a 5-day course of Azithromycin). See other treatment options in April 2022 alert, linked here.
- KEEP all cases out of school, childcare, or work until they have completed the 5-day course of antibiotics, they may return on day 6.
- Consider treating other asymptomatic close contacts of cases (non-household) who are at higher risk of complications from pertussis (ex: pregnant women, infants, those who are unvaccinated or immune compromised).
- REPORT all suspected cases of pertussis to Spokane Regional Health District using the following report form via fax 509-324-3623.
Communicable Disease Report Form
