District Confirms Whooping Cough Case at Hauppauge High School

An individual from has been diagnosed with Pertussis, commonly known as whooping cough, according to a message posted on the district's website Monday.

A letter from Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone and Suffolk County Department of Health Services does not identify the individual, or say if the individual was a student or faculty. 

Hauppauge parents were notified of the confirmed Pertussis case by phone calls on Monday evening, according to district spokeswoman Trish Auerbach.

The letter from the Suffolk County Department of Health explaining the disease, how it is spread, and how it is treated has been posted on the district's website. 

The message posted on the district website provides information about the disease and directs parents and staff to call the county Department of Health Services at 631-853-3055, with questions about the disease and the Pertussis vaccine.

According to the Suffolk County Department of health, Pertussis is a highly contagious bacterial respiratory illness that is spread through the air by cough from an infected individual. It can take up to three weeks for symptoms to develop and last for up to six weeks. 

Symptoms include fever and coughing fits accompanied by long whooping sounds and or vomiting/gagging. In some cases, whooping cough can be fatal to infants who are not fully immunized.