Whooping Cough Case Confirmed At Clearview High School In Gloucester County

By Kim Glovas

GLOUCESTER COUNTY, N.J., (CBS) -- One case of whooping cough has been confirmed at Clearview High School in Gloucester County.

The Clearview School District has posted information on it's website about whooping cough, known officially as pertussis. The district confirms one case and adds another suspected case is being looked into.

Superintendent John Horchak the Third says he got the call Friday morning.

"I was notified through my building principal, and the parents actually contacted him just to inform us, so that we could take appropriate precautions to preclude any further cases."

That student, he says, had been out for a few days before the diagnosis.

Horchak says two buildings on campus, the middle school and high school, are being sanitized, as well as all the school buses.

"We've actually already started. We've closed down our weight room, and we're gonna start there. Typically there are a lot of students there in the afternoons, evenings and weekends."

The posted information is from the New Jersey Department of Health and includes the symptoms of pertussis which include sneezing, coughing, runny nose and fever.

How Whooping Cough Spreads And What To Do If You Have It 

The cough, however, becomes more serious within two weeks and becomes uncontrollable coughing spasms. Pertussis can be treated with antibiotics and is preventable with vaccinations.

The district urges anyone who suspects the disease to call their health care provider immediately.