2 Freetown-Lakeville Middle School Students Contract Whooping Cough

LAKEVILLE (CBS) -- Two students have come down with whooping cough at the Freetown-Lakeville Middle School and there's concern there may be more.

"We have several suspect cases and two students with cultures pending," Lakeville Public Health Nurse Lori Desmarais said in a letter to the school principal Wednesday.

Desmarais said they're trying to reach all students that may have been exposed. She's also notified the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

Read: Whooping Cough Fact Sheet

Whooping cough, which is also known as pertussis, is a highly contagious bacterial infection that develops into a cough and typically lasts for several weeks. It's caused by bacteria that are easily spread from person-to-person.

A vaccine is available and it's treatable with antibiotics. According to the state, pertussis is most common in Massachusetts "among people over 10 years old who have lost the protection they got from childhood vaccines."