Whooping Cough Cases Pop Up In Western Monmouth: Report

MILLSTONE, NJ -- Two students have been diagnosed with whooping cough in the last week and school officials are telling parents to keep an eye on their children who may have been exposed to it, according to a report.

The Asbury Park Press reported that a Millstone Elementary School student was confirmed as having the highly contagious respiratory disease on Monday. That is in addition to a high school student at Allentown High School, who was diagnosed last week. That student’s siblings attend Millstone Elementary and Middle schools and were showing symptoms and are being treated as a precaution, the report said.

A letter from Millstone Schools Superintendent Scott Feder warned parents that if a child has a cough, ”don’t brush it off. This is the time that you take your child to the doctor.”

Health officials recommend those in close contact with infected students receive antibiotics; students showing symptoms who are treated with antibiotics are not allowed to return to school for at least five days, according to the report.

Whooping cough, also known as pertussis, is a bacterial disease that is preventable by vaccination. It causes a characteristic cough that produces a “whooping” sound and it can be fatal to infants.

This is the second outbreak of the disease in Monmouth and Ocean counties this fall. In November, three cases of whooping cough were diagnosed in Lakewood among the Orthodox Jewish community.

Read more on the Millstone outbreak here.