At least two students at Mason City High School are diagnosed with whooping cough and dozens of students are being screened for the disease. Superintendent Keith Sersland says they’re working closely with the county health department to assess the situation. He says they’ve been making sure the families were aware and that they’re getting screened. Notification was also sent home with all students about the whooping cough. Sersland says the school system and the county health department want to gather all the information about who has and hasn’t been affected in the group of friends and then be proactive in finding a solution. Sersland says for now, all activities and classes are on as scheduled, but if more cases of whooping cough are documented, they may choose a new course of action. He says they’ll work with county health officials to see if they need to change. He says that’s what they did for an earlier case.Whooping cough, clinically known as pertussis, is caused by bacteria which are easily spread from one person to another. The disease is mild in older children and adults, but can cause serious problems for younger children.
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