5 whooping cough cases at Chapel Hill school
Published: Mon, Nov. 24, 2008 06:16PM
Modified Mon, Nov. 24, 2008 06:16PM
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closeCHAPEL HILL -- Public health officials are on alert after five children at Estes Hill Elementary School were diagnosed with whooping cough.
Whooping cough, or pertussis, is a respiratory tract infection caused by bacteria. The disease can be serious for infants and the elderly and can lead to hospitalization, the Orange County Health Department said Monday in a news release.
None of the five students has been hospitalized, a health department official said.
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Parents at Estes Hill have received letters about monitoring their kids for symptoms, and people close to the infected children are being sent to their doctors for antibiotics.
Whooping cough is named after a characteristic sound that patients may make after bouts of coughing.
Most children are vaccinated early, the health department said, but resistance decreases as children age.
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