Whooping cough reported at SC high school. Officials warn about possible exposure
A whooping cough case was reported at a South Carolina school, health officials warn.
Students, staff and visitors of Seneca High School may have been exposed to the potentially deadly disease, the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control said Thursday.
A lone case of whooping cough was reported last week at the Upstate campus, Jennifer Dodd, spokesperson for the School District of Oconee County, wrote in an email to McClatchy News.
People may have been exposed Jan. 10 to Jan. 14, according to a letter state health officials sent to staff members and parents of students who may have come into contact with the disease.
Whooping cough, also called pertussis, is a contagious respiratory illness, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
People who get sick have cold-like symptoms and develop a more serious cough after one to two weeks, according to the South Carolina health department.
“Adults and adolescents may have milder symptoms of whooping cough, but they can spread their infection to babies who may become severely ill,” the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control says.
People with compromised immune systems or lung diseases also are at risk for getting seriously sick, according to the department.
Health officials say vaccinations are the best way to protect against whooping cough.
Those who were possibly exposed at Seneca High School with a cough or the potential for getting dangerously sick should call their health care providers, according to last week’s letter.
The campus is roughly 40 miles west of Greenville and near the North Carolina and Georgia borders.
