I'm perplexed and I need your help! First, a few points to consider:
*The school I teach at has been at the center of a pertussis outbreak. It appears as though one vaxed 10 year old had an undiagnosed case with mild symptoms and then passed it on to her mother, a classmate, and parents of 2 other classmates. From there, it has spread to a total of 8 cases in the community. I don't teach that class, but I teach 3 older siblings of kids in that class and work with one of the adults who had it.
*I believe I had a pertussis booster about 12 years ago (along with the tetanus booster I had to get when I worked at a zoo--does that make sense?). DD is 32 months and has only been given the DTaP. We did a delayed schedule, and I think she has had 3 doses.
*The last 2 days DD has coughed a few times--a deep, sharp cough that happens quickly and doesn't seem to phase her. Today the coughing became more frequent and bothersome and her nose was a little runny. Then while out with dh this afternoon, she coughed so hard that she threw up in her carseat. She now has a fever of 101.3 and is miserable and tired. She's nursing to sleep as I type this. Meanwhile, dh is also coughing (but it sounds like a normal chest cold to me. Bronchitis has also been going around my school.).
*We are all scheduled to fly to PA to see my brand new baby niece Friday afternoon.
Ack! What do I do? I think I understand the nature of how pertussis spreads, but I'm a little confused by how the bacteria affects people that are vaxed. What is the mechanism for how the vax keeps people from getting a bacterial infection? It doesn't keep people from harboring and spreading the bacteria, does it? I'm thinking about taking dd in for a pertussis test tomorrow, just to be sure, especially considering the likelihood that she's been exposed to the disease. It seems pretty irresponsible to take a potentially infectious person on an airplane. What if it's bronchitis? Would you travel? What if it's just a cold? How do I keep her comfortable for flying if she just has a regular cough?
Sorry this got so long! I'm cross-posting in H&H.
*The school I teach at has been at the center of a pertussis outbreak. It appears as though one vaxed 10 year old had an undiagnosed case with mild symptoms and then passed it on to her mother, a classmate, and parents of 2 other classmates. From there, it has spread to a total of 8 cases in the community. I don't teach that class, but I teach 3 older siblings of kids in that class and work with one of the adults who had it.
*I believe I had a pertussis booster about 12 years ago (along with the tetanus booster I had to get when I worked at a zoo--does that make sense?). DD is 32 months and has only been given the DTaP. We did a delayed schedule, and I think she has had 3 doses.
*The last 2 days DD has coughed a few times--a deep, sharp cough that happens quickly and doesn't seem to phase her. Today the coughing became more frequent and bothersome and her nose was a little runny. Then while out with dh this afternoon, she coughed so hard that she threw up in her carseat. She now has a fever of 101.3 and is miserable and tired. She's nursing to sleep as I type this. Meanwhile, dh is also coughing (but it sounds like a normal chest cold to me. Bronchitis has also been going around my school.).
*We are all scheduled to fly to PA to see my brand new baby niece Friday afternoon.
Ack! What do I do? I think I understand the nature of how pertussis spreads, but I'm a little confused by how the bacteria affects people that are vaxed. What is the mechanism for how the vax keeps people from getting a bacterial infection? It doesn't keep people from harboring and spreading the bacteria, does it? I'm thinking about taking dd in for a pertussis test tomorrow, just to be sure, especially considering the likelihood that she's been exposed to the disease. It seems pretty irresponsible to take a potentially infectious person on an airplane. What if it's bronchitis? Would you travel? What if it's just a cold? How do I keep her comfortable for flying if she just has a regular cough?
Sorry this got so long! I'm cross-posting in H&H.
