JACKSONSCHOOLDISTRICT

151DonConnorBoulevard
Jackson,NJ08527
(732)8334600
FAX(732)8334609
Dr.StephenGenco,Superintendent
_____________________________________________________________________________

DearParent/Guardian,January28,2016

This letter is to notify you that a student at Jackson Liberty High School has tested positive for
pertussis, which is commonly known as whooping cough. The student affected has receivedthe
appropriatetreatmentandisnolongercontagious.
We have been in contact with the Ocean County Health Department and we will continue to
monitor the situation in our district.Ifadditionalcasesarise,wewillagainnotifyparents.Below
is some important health information for parents and staff that can beusedtomonitoryourown
healthandthehealthofyourchildren.
Pertussis is a highly contagious disease that is spread through the air by a cough or a
sneeze. It begins with cold symptoms and a cough, which become much worse over 12
weeks. Symptoms usually include a long series of coughing fits followed by a
whooping noise. However, older children, adults and very young infants may not
developthewhoop.Thereisgenerallyonlyaslightfever.
People with pertussis may have a series ofseverecoughingfitsfollowedimmediatelyby
vomiting, turning blue, or difficulty catching breath. The cough is often worse at night,
andcoughmedicinesusuallydonothelpalleviatethecough.
If your child has been around someone with pertussis, s/he might become sick with the
disease. This is especially true if your child is not uptodate with his/her pertussis
vaccineshots.Evenifyourchildsshotsareuptodate,s/hemightstillgetpertussis.
If your child has been in contact with someone with pertussis, antibiotics prescribed by
your doctor may prevent him/her from becoming ill. If your child is alreadysick,giving
antibiotics early can help your child get well faster and lower the chances of spreading
thediseasetoothers.
For your information, we are including the following facts and recommendations from the NJ
DepartmentofHealth:
If your child comes down with cold symptoms that include a cough, talk to your childs
doctor immediately. Tell the doctor that pertussis has been identified at your childs
school.
It is generally recommended that thosepersonshavingclosecontactwithapertussiscase
receiveantibioticsfromtheirdoctortohelppreventthemfromgettingpertussis.

 Donotsendyourchildtoschoolifs/hehasanysignsorsymptomsofpertussis.
Infants under one year old, especially those under six months, are most likely to have
severe symptoms if they develop pertussis. When possible, young infantsshould bekept
away from people with a cough. Infants with any coughing illness should be seen
promptlybytheirdoctor.
Pertussis vaccine has until recently, been given only to children under 7 years old.
However, a new adolescent and adult pertussis booster vaccine is now available for
persons ages 10 64 years. If you have children who have not been completely
immunized against pertussis (particularly infants under one year) we recommend you
nowtalktoyourchildsdoctoraboutthebenefitsofvaccination.

If you have concerns regarding your childs health, we recommend you contact your primary
care physician for any care needed. Should you not have a primary care physician, you may
contacttheOceanCountyHealthDept.at(732)3419700.
There are many excellent resources available about pertussis, some of which we have listed
below. If you have any general concerns or questions about pertussis, you can contact your
schoolnurseortheOceanCountyHealthDepartment.

FrequentlyAskedQuestionsaboutPertussis:
http://www.state.nj.us/health/cd/documents/faq/pertussis_faq.pdf

AdditionalInfoonPertussisfromtheCentersofDiseaseControl:
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpdvac/pertussis/default.htm

PreventingPertussis:
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpdvac/pertussis/downloads/PLdispertussiscoloroffice.pdf

Sincerely,

Stephen Genco
SuperintendentofSchools