On May 7, 2013 the Marin Country Public Health Officer issued a Public Health Update regarding two cases of pertussis at Marin Catholic High School. Since that time 13 additional cases have been reported, including additional cases from Marin Catholic High School and other schools through our community. All known cases are recovering with outpatient treatment. Information has been sent to parents, contact investigations are ongoing and individuals identified as contacts have been notified and offered prophylaxis.
Providers may receive questions from families about medical evaluation, treatment, and chemoprophylaxis for pertussis. Pertussis does occur sporadically in Marin, and some natural variation in baseline activity is expected. However, pertussis incidence in Marin in the past 2 months is above normal levels, and signals active transmission within our community. This is an opportunity to reinforce the importance of vaccination—in countries with the highest vaccination rates, sporadic pertussis incidence is less than 1 case per 100,000 people per year.
Depending on the characteristics of any school- based clusters, the Public Health Officer may issue orders to exclude unvaccinated students from attending school for their protection. If such action is taken a Public Health Update will be sent to providers.
For your convenience the California Department of Public Health Quicksheets for Pertussis Investigation and Laboratory Testing are attached to this document and also may be found at http://www.cdph.ca.gov/HealthInfo/discond/Documents/CDPHPertussisQuicksheet.pdf
Please report new pertussis cases to the Public Health Department Communicable Disease Unit at the following phone numbers, (415) 473-3038 or (415) 473-7805 Monday through Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. or fax a Confidential Morbidity Report to (415) 473-6002.