Whooping Cough Hits Los Angeles County, Again

LOS ANGELES, CA — A Saugus High School student has been diagnosed with whooping cough, according to a letter distributed by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, the Santa Clarita Valley Signal reported. A second student in the region at, Valencia High school also reportedly contracted the illness.

In a letter sent Tuesday, health officials informed Saugus parents that at least one person had pertussis, or whooping cough, and that because children were in "close contact with this person" they had to release the information. Parents at Valencia received a similar email Thursday, according to The Signal Santa Clara Valley. The incidents aren't the county's first outbreak of whooping cough this year. More than 30 students associated with Harvard Westlake contracted the illness in February. In recent years, California has contended with more cases of whooping cough than it had for most of the last century, CBS Los Angeles reported.

RELATED: Whooping Cough Outbreak Hits Harvard-Westlake

Whooping cough can spread from a cough or sneeze and can start by looking like a cold that continually gets worse, eventually becoming coughing attacks that last several seconds.

"As the person catches his or her breath at the end of each coughing attack, they may make a 'whoop' sound, vomit or choke," the release from health officials read. "It can cause serious illness, leading to hospital stays and even death, especially in infants less than 6 months old."

Whooping cough can be treated and prevented from spreading with antibiotics. If children begin exhibiting the signs of whooping cough, parents are advised to take them to their doctor immediately, and not send them to school.

Anyone looking for more information can contact Diane Hamburger, Saugus High's assistant principal at 661-297-3900, according to the Signal.

In addition to discussing whooping cough, Santa Clarita health experts are sending out information about flu season being right around the corner, according to officials quoted by the Signal. The standard vaccine is for adults aged 18 years and over and children aged 9-17 years with parental consent.

Personal belief and religious exemptions were eliminated under a controversial state law passed in 2015. A few upper school students are grandfathered under previous exemptions, Engelberg said.

With antibiotic treatment contagion typically ends five days after starting antibiotic treatment.
It is particularly dangerous and even deadly for infants, who end up in the hospital about 50 percent of the time after contracting the illness, according to the DPH.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report