REEDSBURG, Wis. (AP) -- A rising number of whooping cough cases in Sauk County has altered Halloween festivities.

Normally, scores of children, dressed in their costumes, would have visited the Sauk County Healthcare Center in Reedsburg. But Sunday's event was canceled over concerns that whooping cough would spread to elderly residents.

Sauk County public health director Cindy Bodendein says 10 cases of whooping cough in the last three months have health officials concerned. Zimmerman Nursing Home in Reedsburg is also taking the advice of health officials. Its residents won't be visiting with trick-or-treaters this year.

Bodendein tells WISC-TV that whooping cough begins like a cold, with a cough following ten days after and lasting up to a month.