FAYETTEVILLE -- A high school student has a confirmed case of pertussis, the Fayetteville School District announced Thursday.
Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, is a highly contagious disease involving the respiratory tract.
Students who have vaccine exemptions for the pertussis (Tdap) vaccine or no record of the vaccination and were in close contact with the student with pertussis are to be excluded from school for 21 days from the date of exposure.
One high school student fit that description, said Melissa Thomas, the district's director of nursing. That student may stay in school if the student follows an approved antibiotic treatment method, Thomas said.
At least seven Fayetteville students have been diagnosed with pertussis since last spring. The Springdale and Pea Ridge districts also have reported students with pertussis within the past three months.
Pertussis symptoms usually develop within five to 10 days after exposure, but sometimes don't develop for as long as three weeks.
Early symptoms can last for one to two weeks and usually include a runny nose, low-grade fever and a mild cough. After that, symptoms may include fits of many rapid coughs followed by a high pitched "whoop" sound, which may be accompanied by vomiting and exhaustion, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
NW News on 01/24/2020