Whooping Cough Confirmed at Shawsheen Tech

BILLERICA -- A student at Shawsheen Valley Technical High School, which enrolls from Tewksbury and Wilmington, has a case of whooping cough, the superintendent told The Sun.

The school has shared a Department of Public Health advisory with staff, parents and guardians -- informing them of the case of whooping cough (pertussis), and about its signs and symptoms.

"The Board of Health informed us of a confirmed case within our community," Shawsheen Tech Superintendent-Director Tim Broadrick confirmed in a text toThe Sun.

In the advisory sent out to staff, parents and guardians, the Department of Public Health states that whooping cough is a disease caused by bacteria that spreads with close contact.

The cough illness usually begins with a runny nose, sneezing and dry cough. The cough slowly gets worse.

Coughing spells may become uncontrollable and followed by vomiting.

"Watch for symptoms that may develop over the next 2 weeks," reads the advisory.

"If you (staff), your child (parents of students) develop symptoms suggestive of pertussis, you/he/she may need to be tested for pertussis by your family's health care provider."

For more information, call the Department of Public Health at 617-983-6800.

For more on this story read The Sun.