“So we had, back in April, Custer County had four cases of pneumonia from school-age children. All four ended up on antibiotics, and one required oxygen therapy,” explained Custer County Public Health Director Sara Bertelsen to the Custer County Board of Health during a meeting on Thursday, May 22. The Board of Health is comprised of the same members as the Custer County Board of County Commissioners, but state laws require separate meetings for matters concerning public health.
“So it was a Streptococcus Pneumoniae, which is very common in the spring months. Luckily, it didn’t spread beyond these four, thankfully, because that can be pretty detrimental to younger children, especially when they have to go on oxygen.”
Commissioner Paul Vogelsong asked Bertelsen, “That’s not fun. What school ages?”
Bertelsen went into the details. “They ranged from 8 to 11. This was just a little cluster; they had ended up having a sleepover, which was the common tie to this outbreak. This outbreak had more than three people involved, so that is what is considered an outbreak. We investigated and discussed this with the school nurses, and we also went to the local pharmacy and learned a little bit about the antibiotics the kids were using and which were not working. Turns out that some of the kids ended up having to switch antibiotics. So, luckily, none had to end up hospitalized. One child was on oxygen for 3-4 days, which is not great but could have been a lot worse.”
There has been ongoing turnover among school staff and nurses, but Bertelsen explained that the communication between the school nurses has been excellent. “Luckily, we are improving on our illness reports at the school which is wonderful. We hold a regular call with the school nurse, and we have a pretty regular call almost weekly. So nice to have an increase in communication there with the School District.”
-Jordan Hedberg
