Classes are canceled at a southern Iowa school district Friday, Dec. 12, after a case of whooping cough was confirmed.

Officials with Davis County Community School District in Bloomfield said Thursday afternoon that the case of whooping cough, also called pertussis, was confirmed at the elementary school.

Pertussis is a contagious respiratory illness. It gets its name based on the "whooping" someone makes while gasping for air after coughing.

"School will be canceled (Friday) as we continue our investigation and receive guidance from public health officials," Superintendent Megan Christiansen said in a post on the district's Facebook page .

School events and activities have been canceled or postponed Thursday, Friday and Saturday, according to the school's activities calendar .

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