Onondaga County Health Department

Bureau of Disease Control

421 Montgomery Street, Room 80, Syracuse, NY 13202
315.435.3236 Fax 315.435.3884
Joanne M. Mahoney, County Executive Indu Gupta, MD, MPH, Commissioner of Health

May 26, 2017

Dear Parent/Guardian,

There is currently a pertussis outbreak in the Baldwinsville School District. A person with pertussis can
cough for several weeks, and can transmit the disease to close contacts by cough droplets in the first 21
days of cough. Pertussis is usually diagnosed by a molecular test called a PCR, or culture obtained by
nasal pharyngeal (NP) swab. Because most children of school age have had full series of pertussis-
containing vaccines, their symptoms may be mild and not be apparent. However, pertussis can be
severe in individuals with asthma, weakened immune systems, pregnant women and young infants.
Parents can play a significant role in stopping of such outbreaks in schools- by working with their
medical providers, school staff and the Onondaga County Health Department (OCHD) by following
suggested recommendations. These recommendations are based on the Centers for Disease Control
(CDC) and New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) guidelines. We recommend the following
steps to contain the spread of pertussis:

-If your child has a cough that does not go away:

Keep your child home and seek medical care from your medical provider.
If a NP swab for pertussis is ordered by the provider, keep your child home until the result is
known.
If the swab is positive, the child should finish 5 days of antibiotics before he/she can return to
school.

-If your child is diagnosed with pertussis, all household members should contact their medical
providers to obtain Post Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) antibiotics within 21 days of the start of the
cough in the diagnosed patient.
Coughing household contacts should finish all 5 days of PEP before returning to school/work.

-Prevention by Vaccination:
All school age students must receive all vaccinations required by New York State. Please make
sure all your children have appropriate vaccination including pertussis.

For more information on pertussis, please visit:

https://www.cdc.gov/pertussis/index.html
https://www.health.ny.gov/publications/2171/

In summary, if you have any reason to suspect that your child may have pertussis, please do not
send your child to school. Discuss the matter with your physician and have the child tested for
pertussis. Please contact the Onondaga County Bureau of Disease Control at 435-3236 and ask
for a Communicable Disease Nurse with any questions and/or concerns.

Onondaga County Health Department

Bureau of Disease Control
421 Montgomery Street Room 80
Syracuse, NY 13202
Phone: 315-435-3236

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