Whooping cough reported at 2 McHenry schools; countywide cases ...

Two cases of whooping cough in McHenry schools were reported to McHenry parents this week.

Letters sent to parents by their respective school districts alerted them that the bacterial infection had shown up in the two schools.

Upper Campus Principal Jeff Prickett said Wednesday that he was aware of only the one case in McHenry High School District 156. Parents were informed of the case via an email sent Tuesday.

A corresponding letter send Monday from McHenry School District 15 noted that students were exposed to whooping cough, also called pertussis, at McHenry Middle School.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has warned that cases of the respiratory illness whooping cough have increased dramatically this year across the country and in Illinois. In 2023, McHenry County reported a total of 13 cases of the illness. That has doubled to 26 so far this year through September, and updated numbers for the county are expected in mid-November, McHenry County Department of Health spokesman Nick Kubiak said.

Although COVID-19 precautions caused the number of whooping cough cases to decrease in 2020 and 2021, the number of cases so far this year has surpassed even the numbers reported in 2019, according to the CDC.

In their letters to parents, both school districts encouraged parents to check their children’s immunization records to ensure that they have the most up-to-date vaccination. Parents also should ensure symptomatic children are seen by a doctor and, if whooping cough is diagnosed, should keep that child at home for at least five days with antibiotic treatments.

Whooping cough symptoms

The CDC lists these conditions as symptoms of whooping cough:

Early symptoms – last one to two weeks

Runny or stuffed-up noseLow-grade fever (less than 100.4 degrees)Mild, occasional cough

Later symptoms

Rapid, violent and uncontrolled coughing fits that can continue over the course of one to six weeks but in some cases can last for up to 10 weeks. The cough generally gets worse and becomes more frequent as the illness continues.

Shaw Local News Network’s Jessie Molloy contributed to this report.