Ravalli County Public Health Director Judy Griffin says she can't say which town the baby is from, only that the infant is from Ravalli County. Griffin also told us Friday that whooping cough cases have jumped to 22 across the county. One adult and two children tested positive since Thursday and while most of the cases are in the Pinesdale area, she did say the other cases are throughout the county.

Corvallis and Victor students who were banned from school because they were not immunized for pertussis are expected to return to class on Monday, but Griffin tells us health officials for the county will revisit that decision Friday afternoon. The latest update from Ravalli County Public Health Director Judy Griffin shows that health officials have confirmed 31 cases of Pertussis in Ravalli County while she says they are waiting for work from Helena on another 15 possible cases of the illness. Ravalli County Health Department Director Judy Griffin says any student that is not immunized because of religion or other health reasons, is banned from Corvallis and Victor schools until May 13th. Ravalli County Health Department Director Judy Griffin says the county's health officer made that decision Sunday night in hopes of stopping the pertussis outbreak. Griffin says any student that is not immunized because of religion or other health reasons, is banned from Corvallis and Victor schools until May 13th. Griffin says there are 22 cases, 19 children, three adults, in Ravalli County that originated in Pinesdale, but has now spread to Corvallis and Victor. She says an infant was in the hospital with whooping cough and a Bitterroot Valley daycare has reported two cases of whooping cough. "We've seen a lot of these types of outbreaks in the past, but this is one of the larger ones," Ravalli County Health Department Director Judy Griffin said. Griffin says immunization is the biggest prevention for this highly contagious disease. "The lesser people in the community that aren't immunized, your herd immunity drops and therefore when you get pertussis or a disease of this nature in the community, then there's more of an issue of people that are unimmunized or even immunized as well getting sick from the disease." "With this type of cough, it takes on a different nature of a spasmodic type of cough. You can cough till you vomit. You may or may not have a whoop, so if parents are waiting until they hear a whoop from their child, that may not happen," explained Griffin. Griffin says Lewis and Clark cCounty has well over a dozen positive pertussis cases while Washington is at an epidemic level, with over 640 infected people. Ravalli County Public Health Director Judy Griffin says she can't say which town the baby is from, only that the infant is from Ravalli County. Griffin also told us Friday that whooping cough cases have jumped to 22 across the county. One adult and two children tested positive since Thursday and while most of the cases are in the Pinesdale area, she did say the other cases are throughout the county. Ravalli County Public Health Director Judy Griffin says she can't say what town the baby is from and would only tell us that the infant is from the Bitterroot. Griffin also says the whooping cough cases have jumped from 15 to 19 across the county and while most of the cases are in the Pinesdale area, she added that other cases are being reported throughout the county. Griffin says whooping cough it is highly contagious and the best way to prevent this outbreak from getting worse is by getting vaccinated. Griffin says three new cases have popped up in the Corvallis School District and that all of the new cases are linked in someway to the community of Pinesdale. Griffin added there is a good chance more students may test positive for whooping cough. She told us that because of the outbreak, more senior citizens are getting vaccinated and they have really "stepped up", considering Medicare doesn't cover the T-DAP vaccine. Ravalli County Public Health Director Judy Griffin said vaccination is the best way to prevent this outbreak from getting worse. "This might, you know, just be the tip of the iceberg," she said. "There might be waves of this as this progresses through the community. But what we're trying to do is stop the progression throughout the county." Griffin said babies are particularly susceptible since they haven't had all their shots right away. School officials and Ravalli County Public Health Department Director Judy Griffin agreed to close the school to protect its students from the highly contagious bacteria. Griffin says there are five confirmed cases of Pertussis. Ravalli County Public Health Director Judy Griffin says they have five confirmed cases of whooping cough. Pertussis is a bacterial disease that affects the respiratory tract and affects persons of all ages, but is most serious in infants and young children. It is spread by contact with the respiratory droplets from an infected person through coughing. Griffin strongly encourages parents to have their children immunized.

Ravalli County Public Health Nursing Director Judy Griffin told us the... more >

Ravalli County Health Director Judy Griffin told Montana's News Station early Wednesday afternoon that they have 50 confirmed cases in the Bitterroot and also waiting for 20 more test results to come back from the state lab in Helena. Corvallis and Victor students who were banned from school because they were not immunized for pertussis are expected to return to class on Monday, but Griffin tells us health officials for the county will revisit that decision Friday afternoon. The latest update from Ravalli County Public Health Director Judy Griffin shows that health officials have confirmed 31 cases of Pertussis in Ravalli County while she says they are waiting for work from Helena on another 15 possible cases of the illness. Ravalli County Health Department Director Judy Griffin says any student that is not immunized because of religion or other health reasons, is banned from Corvallis and Victor schools until May 13th. Ravalli County Health Department Director Judy Griffin says the county's health officer made that decision Sunday night in hopes of stopping the pertussis outbreak. Griffin says any student that is not immunized because of religion or other health reasons, is banned from Corvallis and Victor schools until May 13th. Griffin says there are 22 cases, 19 children, three adults, in Ravalli County that originated in Pinesdale, but has now spread to Corvallis and Victor. She says an infant was in the hospital with whooping cough and a Bitterroot Valley daycare has reported two cases of whooping cough. "We've seen a lot of these types of outbreaks in the past, but this is one of the larger ones," Ravalli County Health Department Director Judy Griffin said. Griffin says immunization is the biggest prevention for this highly contagious disease. "The lesser people in the community that aren't immunized, your herd immunity drops and therefore when you get pertussis or a disease of this nature in the community, then there's more of an issue of people that are unimmunized or even immunized as well getting sick from the disease." "With this type of cough, it takes on a different nature of a spasmodic type of cough. You can cough till you vomit. You may or may not have a whoop, so if parents are waiting until they hear a whoop from their child, that may not happen," explained Griffin. Griffin says Lewis and Clark cCounty has well over a dozen positive pertussis cases while Washington is at an epidemic level, with over 640 infected people. Ravalli County Public Health Director Judy Griffin says she can't say which town the baby is from, only that the infant is from Ravalli County. Griffin also told us Friday that whooping cough cases have jumped to 22 across the county. One adult and two children tested positive since Thursday and while most of the cases are in the Pinesdale area, she did say the other cases are throughout the county. Ravalli County Public Health Director Judy Griffin says she can't say what town the baby is from and would only tell us that the infant is from the Bitterroot. Griffin also says the whooping cough cases have jumped from 15 to 19 across the county and while most of the cases are in the Pinesdale area, she added that other cases are being reported throughout the county. Griffin says whooping cough it is highly contagious and the best way to prevent this outbreak from getting worse is by getting vaccinated. Griffin says three new cases have popped up in the Corvallis School District and that all of the new cases are linked in someway to the community of Pinesdale. Griffin added there is a good chance more students may test positive for whooping cough. She told us that because of the outbreak, more senior citizens are getting vaccinated and they have really "stepped up", considering Medicare doesn't cover the T-DAP vaccine. Ravalli County Public Health Director Judy Griffin said vaccination is the best way to prevent this outbreak from getting worse. "This might, you know, just be the tip of the iceberg," she said. "There might be waves of this as this progresses through the community. But what we're trying to do is stop the progression throughout the county." Griffin said babies are particularly susceptible since they haven't had all their shots right away. School officials and Ravalli County Public Health Department Director Judy Griffin agreed to close the school to protect its students from the highly contagious bacteria. Griffin says there are five confirmed cases of Pertussis. Ravalli County Public Health Director Judy Griffin says they have five confirmed cases of whooping cough. Pertussis is a bacterial disease that affects the respiratory tract and affects persons of all ages, but is most serious in infants and young children. It is spread by contact with the respiratory droplets from an infected person through coughing. Griffin strongly encourages parents to have their children immunized.

Ravalli County Public Health Director Judy Griffin said vaccination is the best way to prevent this outbreak from getting worse. "This might, you know, just be the tip of the iceberg," she said. "There might be waves of this as this progresses through the community. But what we're trying to do is stop the progression throughout the county." Griffin said babies are particularly susceptible since they haven't had all their shots right away.