LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) - Health officials in a northeast Kansas county are dealing with an outbreak of whooping cough.
Station 6News Lawrence reports that Douglas County officials have recorded a half-dozen cases of the illness in Lawrence during the past month. Four of the cases involved children who had not been vaccinated for whooping cough, also known as pertussis.
The bacterial illness is contagious and spreads by coughing or sneezing in close contact with others.
A pertussis outbreak in March affected seven Lawrence children, most of them unvaccinated.
Symptoms of whooping cough include a runny nose or congestion, sneezing and possibly a mild cough or fever. Very young children may have rapid, violent coughing.