Schools

Two Orefield Students Have Whooping Cough

Parents have been notified that children at Orefield Middle School could have been exposed to Pertusis, whooping cough.

Parkland School District alerted parents today that two Orefield Middle School students were diagnosed with whopping cough.

Pertusis, or whooping cough, is a highly contagious disease spread through the air. When students are diagnosed with pertusis, their doctors must alert the schools, which in turn alerts parents, said Nicole McGalla, Director, Community Relations and Development for Parkland.

“It’s not very common,” she said, “but we have a lot of kids in Parkland, and we usually get a case once a year in one of the schools.”

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The notice, along with a description of the signs and symptoms of whooping cough, has been posted on Orefield Middle School’s web page. The information is also attached to this article.

Symptoms usually include a long series of coughs (“coughing fits”) followed by a whooping noise. However, older children, adults and very young infants may not develop the whoop.

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