Whooping cough cases in Barrington

BARRINGTON, R.I. (WPRI) - The Rhode Island Department of Health confirms there is a small outbreak of whooping cough, or pertussis, at a Barrington school.

Officials say it was just a couple of children at the Hampden Meadows School, around the age of ten, and the children have been treated. Letters have also been sent to their pediatricians so they can be properly monitored.

Dr. Robert Crausman of the D.O.H. told Eyewitness News that whooping cough for children around this age is not terribly serious; it's basically just a bad cough. Whooping cough is only extremely dangerous for infants and babies, so anyone who may have been exposed to the disease who might have younger siblings is being prescribed five days of antibiotics.