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Seven East High School students were kept home from school on Thursday while school officials and the Salt Lake County Health Department worked to contain an outbreak of whooping cough.
The school also conducted on-site immunizations for roughly 30 students who had not yet received pertussis, or whooping cough, vaccinations, East High School Principal Paul Sagers said.
"We've personally called every student who has not been immunized," Sagers said. "We have basically told them that they need to be immunized."
The school's quick reaction to contain the cluster comes as whooping cough cases have declined in Utah, after a spike two years ago.
There have been 748 confirmed cases of whooping cough in Utah this year, according to Rebecca Ward, a health educator with the Utah Department of Health. That's down from 1,132 at this time in 2013.
In 2012, there were 1,544 cases.
"It's not as high as it has been and that's a good thing," Ward said. "We're probably not going to get to 1,000 cases by the end of the year."
Salt Lake County health officials were told of the first case of whooping cough two weeks ago, department spokeswoman Pamela Davenport said. As of Thursday, there were six confirmed cases, Davenport said, enough to classify as an outbreak under the Centers for Disease Control guidelines.
"Pertussis is a highly contagious disease," she said. "For adults, which includes teenagers, it makes you sick with a head cold and then it turns into a cough."
Davenport said that high school students are not particularly vulnerable to whooping cough. But the concern is that the disease could be carried home by students who then infect their infant siblings or grandparents.
"That is a problem," she said.
Sagers said the school is following the direction of the county health department.
Notices were sent home to parents and on Friday the Salt Lake City School District will offer free vaccinations to part-time and non-teaching East High School employees who are not covered by the school's health insurance, Sagers said.
He said he was optimistic that officials had responded quickly to the outbreak, and expected the seven students would be able to return to school by the time classes resume after Christmas.
"It will take us right into the winter recess and then hopefully they'll be ready to go right after we get home from the break," he said.
Davenport said parents should watch their children for symptoms and keep them home from school if they appear sick.
"We always say wash your hands, wash your hands, wash your hands and you can't say it enough," she said.
Ward said pertussis tends to rise and fall on a multiple year cycle. Cases are currently declining, she said, but the disease could surge again in the future.
"It peaks about every three to five years," she said.
She said parents should remember to get booster shots for their adolescent children because the vaccine loses its effectiveness.
"The vaccine will wane over time," she said. "That's kind of what is happening now, especially with middle school-aged children."