With the sick season still keeping many students bedridden, about 25 students have gone to Student Health with concerns about whooping cough over the past few weeks.
Joseph Chance, a physician at Student Health, however, said there only has been one diagnosed case of whooping cough at Student Health as of Feb. 18.
According to WebMD, "pertussis," otherwise known as whooping cough, is a bacterial infection that causes irritation in the breathing passages of the respiratory system. Symptoms include coughing spells which dispel all air from the lungs and may cause vomiting.
Chance said whooping cough typically afflicts students around this time every year. It is usually passed from small children to adults, so students who volunteer or work with children are at a higher risk of coming into contact with the bacteria. The symptoms are much more serious for infants than for adults. For the average college-age student, though, Chance assured that the cough is in no way life threatening.
Chance said many students have come into Student Health concerned about contracting whooping cough.
Third-year College student Brandon Major said his brother recently was diagnosed with the infection. Even though Major tested negative for whooping cough, he said he chose to miss a week of classes in order to prevent others from getting sick.
"My teachers were very understanding of me missing class," Major said. "They understood how contagious [whooping cough] was."
He did admit that his quarantine was not all it was cracked up to be. He said he spent most of the time coughing and choking on mucus.
Though only one student has been officially diagnosed so far, a few students were put on prophylaxis, preventative antibiotics, in order to protect them from contracting the illness.
Some especially high-risk students were asked to voluntarily quarantine themselves and wear face masks to protect other uninfected persons.
Third-year College student James Forbes and fifth-year Education student Kevin Burcham were among those who chose to voluntarily quarantine themselves for 48 hours. Both said they decided to do so after coming into contact with one of Major's apartment mates. They said they only had mild cold symptoms and were able to enjoy their time off from schoolwork.
"We basically did nothing all day," Forbes said. "We invited another quarantined friend over because her apartment mates didn't want to get sick."
Forbes and Burcham said they also wore masks.
"People give you really weird looks," Burcham said. "They wonder what the hell kind of disease I am gonna give them. Someone even asked me if I had SARS."
To prevent contracting whooping cough, Student Health recommends avoiding individuals who have come into contact with those diagnosed or those who are coughing. Avoiding whooping cough is similar to avoiding the flu or a cold, Chance said. Students should wash their hands frequently and get lots of good rest.
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