Chapel Hill reports more whooping cough

The number of students diagnosed with whooping cough in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro school district jumped to seven Tuesday, the Orange County Health Department reported.

All of the cases occurred among students at Estes Hills Elementary School. The school sent out a letter Monday after two siblings were the first to be identified as suffering from the illness, also called pertussis.

The rest of the cases stemmed from students who showed symptoms – runny nose, sneezing, fever and long, breath-taking coughing spells – before the letter was issued, school officials said.

The health department noted that children who received a routine Tdap vaccine should be protected from infection.

Stephanie Knott, assistant to the superintendent for community relations, noted that students who are not immunized were encouraged to get an antibiotic.