Sudbury health department reports pertussis case, pursues grants for opioid recovery and food‑safety work

The Town of Sudbury health department told the Board of Health on Nov. 20 that it has identified a recent pertussis case at Haines Middle School and has notified close contacts and parents as part of routine containment steps. "We kind of narrowed down the next steps, which was basically find out close contacts, notify close contacts, and send out an informational type of email to the parents," the department reported, adding that no further cases had appeared after those notifications.

The department’s nurse, identified in the meeting as Katie, also said Mycoplasma ("walking pneumonia") is circulating locally and that hand‑foot‑and‑mouth disease had been reported at a Sudbury daycare. She urged common precautions — handwashing, surface cleaning and staying home while sick — and noted that certain groups, including people with asthma, the immunocompromised and pregnant people, face greater risk from some respiratory infections.

Director remark…