Yellowknife student diagnosed with whooping cough

Health officials say a middle school student at Yellowknife's École William McDonald school has been diagnosed with pertussis, or whooping cough.

The school sent a letter to parents today from Yellowknife Health and Social Services, stating that their children may have come in contact with the infected student.

Whooping cough is a bacterial infection that causes severe coughing fits, and can lead to pneumonia and other serious medical issues. It's most commonly transmitted through coughing or sneezing.

The pertussis vaccine is part of the routine N.W.T. immunization schedule, but according to the health authority the vaccine can start to wane or be less effective by age nine or 10. The immunization schedule calls for booster vaccinations for tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis in Grade 9 and every 10 years for adults over 18.

Pregnant women, people with severe lung disease, and infants who are not immunized or under immunized are most at risk.

The letter tells parents that in the "rare possibility that your child presents symptom of disease, please see your healthcare provider immediately."

It says symptoms of whooping cough include:

• persistent cough, which may become more severe and forceful
• fever
• runny nose
• sneezing.

Alberta Health Services declared a whooping cough outbreak in northern Alberta last month. Almost 200 cases of whooping cough have been confirmed in the region, which includes Fort McMurray and Grande Prairie.

Yukon also saw two cases of pertussis earlier this year.