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May 9, 2008 7:13 pm US/Pacific
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Whooping Cough Outbreak At West CoCo School
EL SOBRANTE (BCN) ―
A private school in El Sobrante was closed Friday due to an outbreak of pertussis, or whooping cough, that has affected at least 16 children, according to Contra Costa Health Services.
East Bay Waldorf School students and staff who are undergoing treatment for the highly contagious lung disease and have no symptoms will be allowed back to school Monday. Children must bring a doctor's note confirming they are taking antibiotics and have no symptoms to return to school, health officials said.
All other students will not be allowed to return to school until May 30, according to the county's health services.
The school, which is in an unincorporated part of the county, has about 300 students between in kindergarten through 12th grades and at least half of the infected children are in kindergarten, according to health officials.
The East Bay Waldorf School reportedly has an unusually high number of children who are not vaccinated against the preventable infection, health officials said. The vaccine, which is not mandatory under state law, would have prevented most children at the school from contracting the disease, Dr. Wendel Brunner, the county's health services public health director, said.
Whooping cough is spread through the air when someone coughs or sneezes, or by other close contact. The disease can be fatal to infants and can last for months in children and adults.
For more information about whooping cough visit
www.cchealth.org.
(© CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Bay City News contributed to this report.)