Whooping cough vaccine.jpg

File photo of bottle of tetanus, diphthera and pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine. After a Greenville High School student was diagnosed with pertussis, students were not up to date on vaccinations were excluded from class during the 20-day incubation period.

(Rich Pedroncelli / AP Photo)

GREENVILLE, MI - After a Greenville High School student was diagnosed with whooping cough, unvaccinated classmates were told they must stay home for 20 days.

The policy affects "a handful" of students, and teachers will work with them to help them keep up with their studies, said Greenville schools Superintendent Peter Haines.

The parents were informed of the policy Wednesday, Feb. 4. Several parents came to school Thursday morning saying their child was immunized overnight or to update their records with documents showing they already had the shot, Haines said.

The decision to keep unvaccinated children out of school is in keeping with a recommendation from the Mid Michigan District Health Department, which covers Montcalm, Clinton and Gratiot counties. The medical director, Dr. Robert Graham, sent a letter to school superintendents in December discussing the surge in vaccine-preventable illnesses in Michigan, including whooping cough, and how districts should respond.

"When a vaccine-preventable disease occurs in a school, unvaccinated children should stay home one full incubation cycle from the last time a case of the vaccine preventable illness occurs," the letter states. "In a case of pertussis, an unvaccinated child should stay home from school one incubation period, which is 20 days after the last diagnosed case."

The letter also said, "Parents wishing to have their children return to school may obtain an appropriate dose of a pertussis-containing vaccine. The child could return to school on the day following immunization against pertussis."

Shortly before Christmas, Greenville Public Schools sent a letter to parents of children who were not up to date on vaccines about the health department's policy.

MICHIGAN VACCINATIONS

MLive conducted an investigation of vaccination rates in Michigan and found that the state has among the highest rate of waivers, which experts say is putting the public at risk for outbreaks of some vaccine-preventable illnesses. Read the entire series here.

"I think it's a significant action," Haines said. "We have to trust the clinical experts and the policy makers to make the best decision there. They have given us a directive and we have followed it."

Whooping cough is a highly contagious respiratory disease caused by bacteria and spread by coughs and sneezes. It can involve intense coughing spells that can cause difficulty breathing and vomiting and in some cases, it can be deadly.

The health department notified Greenville Public Schools recently of one confirmed cases of pertussis at the high school. The policy excluding unvaccinated students applies only to those in the same building as the ill student, Haines said. Those at the middle and elementary schools may attend class.

There are 3,800 students in Greenville Public Schools, including 1,150 at the high school. The vaccine waiver rate is 15 percent at the high school and 7 percent for the district, according to records submitted to the Michigan Department of Community Health.



The health department said the form signed by parents who waive the vaccine requirement states that the child may be excluded from school if the state or local health authority says that is needed to control the spread of disease.

The Michigan Department of Community Health leaves it up to local health officers to make that call, said spokeswoman Jennifer Smith.

In Kent County, cases of whooping cough have been reported in Forest Hills and Rockford school districts, but the Kent County Health Department has not directed the schools to exclude unvaccinated students.

In Greenville, teachers are keeping in touch with students who are staying home from school and helping them continue lessons, sometimes with online options, Haines said.

"We will do everything we possibly can to keep those kids up to speed," Haines said. "There are going to be a lot of interventions can do. We can't just let kids slip behind."

Sue Thoms covers health care for MLive/The Grand Rapids Press. Email her at sthoms1@mlive.com or follow her on Twitter, Facebook or Google+.