Cases of whooping cough in Lexington have been upgraded, following three additional confirmed infections on Monday.
The latest are a case at Lafayette High School, another at St. Peter and Paul Catholic School and one in an individual in his/her 80s.
While whooping cough is marked by aggressive coughing, that symptom doesn’t typically show up for a week or two. Instead, the illness presents – at first – as a normal cold with runny nose, sneezing, a low-grade fever, and coughing. The telltale sign is a more dry, hacking kind of cough that takes more time to develop.
The health department is asking all caregivers who take children to the doctor for typical cold symptoms to go ahead and get them checked for whooping cough, and to keep tabs on their own symptoms, as the illness is highly contagious.
See more info on whooping cough, also known as pertussis, and vaccines.
