Health authorities are alerting parents that a case of whooping cough that has broken out at a Victoria school this week.
Island Health says students at Central Middle School may have come into contact with the whooping cough, or pertussis, after someone at the school was diagnosed with the highly contagious disease.
The organization says pertussis starts with mild cold-like symptoms but it can escalate into a severe cough with vomiting and spreads through coughing.
Children who develop a persistent cough should see their family doctors immediately and take a throat swab test for the pertussis germ, according to Island Health.
Infected kids will have to remain on antibiotics for five days until they're no longer infectious to return to school.
Parents have also been asked to make sure their kids are up-to-date on their whooping cough immunization.
