The Greater Victoria School District has confirmed it’s dealing with five separate cases of whooping cough at five schools in the region.
The district tells CTV News infected kids are being kept home and letters have been sent to parents.
"It's not widespread in those schools, it's really a small number of cases but certainly of concern to all of us," said Piet Langstraat, superintendent of school district 61.
The first case was detected at Central Middle School on Tuesday.
Island Health says pertussis starts with mild cold-like symptoms but it can escalate into a severe cough with vomiting and spreads through coughing.
The health authority is advising parents to take their kids to see a family doctor if they develop a persistent cough.
The five schools dealing with cases of whooping cough include:
- Central Middle School
- Cloverdale Traditional School
- Shoreline Community Middle School
- Craigflower Elementary School
- Lansdowne Middle School
There are reports that a privately operated school is also dealing with a case.
