'Multiple students' in Issaquah School District diagnosed with whooping cough

ISSAQUAH, Wash. -- "Multiple students" at Issaquah High and Pacific Cascade Middle Schools, along with one student at Grandrige Elementary, have been diagnosed with whooping cough, the Issaquah School District said.

The statement issued Friday on the district's website did not say how many students were infected with the highly contagious bacterial disease.



"The District is working closely with King County Public Health and we encourage the community to access their website for information on Pertussis," or whooping cough, the school district wrote.

"I thought about the kids who were not vaccinated, and how that’s going to affect my kids at the school," Said Tracie Jones, a parent of students at the middle school and the elementary school.

Whooping cough is a highly contagious, bacterial infection of the nose and throat. It is an upper-respiratory infection that is characterized by coughing, sneezing, runny nose, and occasional vomiting that later progresses into a loud, exhausting cough.

The district is encouraging all parents to get their kids vaccinated. Classes at the schools will resume on Monday.