Whooping Cough Reported At Children's House

A case of whooping cough has been reported at The Children's House in Traverse City. Families, faculty and staff were notified about the case this weekend, which school officials called an "isolated" incident. "The infected student is up-to-date on all immunizations and subsequently presented with a mild case," school officials said in a written statement. "Families of children in the affected classroom are being contacted directly by the Health Department. They are being advised to seek medical advice and to begin prophylactic antibiotics."

School faculty were asked to report to work early Monday to be certain that classrooms and common areas are sanitized thoroughly. A continued effort on educating students on proper protocol for hand washing and protected coughing will also be stepped up.

In a September 15 article, The Ticker reported on unusually high vaccine waiver rates at some local Montessori schools, including The Children’s House. State records showed a 29 percent waiver rate among kindergarten, sixth grade and new/transfer students at that school as of the February 2014 reporting period. School officials say that since the article's publication, they have "been vigilant in educating and informing families about the importance of vaccinations." According to a written statement, The Children's House is "working closely with local and state health departments to improve current vaccination percentages. To date, we have reduced our waiver rate to 15% school-wide and are working toward a future goal of 95% (compliance). In addition, local pediatrician Dr. Robert Sprunk and school parent Dr. Joan Griner have joined The Children’s House as the school’s medical consultants. The safety of our students and the peace of mind of our families is our top priority."

As of Thursday night, the Grand Traverse County Health Department was reporting 34 total confirmed cases of pertussis in the community, 12 of which were linked to an outbreak at Grand Traverse Academy. 166 probable cases of the disease are also linked to the GTA outbreak. Last week, three cases of whooping cough were also identified in each of Kingsley Area School's three buildings: elementary, middle school and high school.