The Grant County County Health District warned in an alert Tuesday that one of two cases in the county of a potentially serious, contagious illness involved a student at Lake Roosevelt Schools.

Grant County Health Officer Dr. Alexander Brzezny issued the the alert to the Grant County media, stating that health district staff are investigating two Grant County residents with laboratory-confirmed whooping cough, also known as pertussis.

The other case involves a student at Port Orchard Elementary in Moses Lake.

“Exposure letters have been distributed at impacted schools,” the alert notes. “There is the potential for more cases to occur. All family members with a ‘close’ contact to those with whooping cough have been notified by GCHD and offered post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) with antibiotics.”

The health district said it is working with school administrators and nurses to notify families and get their children’s vaccines up to date.

State law requires the vaccine of children who attend public school, which “is to be enforced by the school districts,” the health district said. “GCHD wants parents to be aware that if their child is identified to not be up-to-date with the pertussis vaccination, and there is a pertussis outbreak at their school, the child may be EXCLUDED from school and all school-related activities for a period of time. Any child with symptoms of pertussis (cough) will need to be excluded immediately until further evaluation of cough is completed.”

Students can easily spread illnesses to one another because of poor hand washing, uncovered coughs and just by being close to each other.

“When children are not up to date on all of their shots, they are at higher risk for getting sick and spreading disease to others in their classroom and community,” the district said, “including babies who are too young to get many of the shots, and people with weakened immune systems due other health conditions.”

Whooping cough is a highly contagious disease spread through droplets coughed or sneezed into the air and/or onto surfaces. It starts with a cough that becomes much worse over one to two weeks. If you have symptoms of whooping cough AND think you may have been exposed, please discuss this with your healthcare provider or call GCHD and speak with a Public Health Nurse (509-766-7960). It is important to wear a mask (when available) covering your mouth and nose when you visit your doctor’s office to help stop the spread of the disease. Always follow medical directives and stay isolated from others until it is determined that you are not contagious.