Three Cases Of Whooping Cough Reported

Three cases of pertussis have turned up in Kootenai County recently, prompting the Panhandle Health District to issue a reminder of how to prevent its spread.

The three cases are all in one family. Health officials don’t know how the family was exposed to pertussis, which is commonly called whooping cough.

Pertussis is spread through coughing, sneezing, kissing and sharing drinking and eating utensils.

Last spring, a pertussis outbreak resulted in 158 confirmed cases in North Idaho and sent thousands of people to their doctor for antibiotics. One infant died from the disease.

Symptoms include a runny nose, a mild cough that increases in severity, watery eyes and a low-grade fever.

People with these symptoms should wash their hands often, cover their mouth and nose when sneezing or coughing, isolate themselves when showing symptoms, and if they know they’ve been exposed to pertussis, see a doctor or health provider.

In an unrelated announcement, the Coeur d’Alene School District is holding a school board meeting to authorize school-based immunizations. The meeting is scheduled for 3:40 p.m. Monday in the District Administration Office, 311 N. 10th St. , DataTimes