VANDALIA — A case of whooping cough has been reported at a local elementary school.
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The case was reported at Demmitt Elementary School, which is part of Vandalia-Butler City Schools.
The district said it followed public health guidelines to notify students, staff, and families that they may have been exposed to pertussis, otherwise known as whooping cough. That notification was sent out on Tuesday.
“Additionally, out of an abundance of caution, we also notified the families of any buses the student may have been on,” the district spokesperson said.
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Pertussis is highly contagious and is marked by a severe ‘hacking’ cough followed by a high-pitched breath, which sounds like “whoop,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
As shown on News Center 7 at 6:00, Dr. Nancy Pook, with Kettering Health, said whooping cough is “very contagious.”
“The problem is, is that once you’re exposed, when you first get sick, maybe a week or a week and a half. And from then, you can end up with a cough for a while and then you might still potentially have a tendency to spread the illness by coughing,” Pook said.
People with whooping cough usually spread the disease by coughing or sneezing while in close contact with others, who then breathe in the pertussis bacteria.
Health officials say vaccination is the best protection against pertussis. There are pertussis vaccines for infants, children, adolescents, and adults.
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