The Bay Area is currently experiencing an uptick of pertussis cases. Marin County has reported an outbreak of pertussis, with a Mill Valley high school accounting for 65 of the 100 cases that have been reported since mid December. In San Francisco, there have been 13 confirmed cases with a  small cluster found at a Catholic high school and one reported case at a SFUSD middle school. Pertussis infection often starts like a common cold, then gets worse over 1-2 weeks. Symptoms are long coughing spasms, sometimes followed by a “whooping sound”. Infants and persons who are immune compromised or have breathing problems are at risk for more serious infection.

Please take this opportunity to review your site’s immunization compliance for Dtap and Tdap which protect against pertussis. Please visit the CDC website for more information.