Whooping Cough Soars in Kane County

With more than four months lefts in 2012, Kane County so far has seen a 29.6 percent increase in the number of pertussis cases compared with all of 2011.

As of Aug. 6, Kane County has seen 70 cases in 2012 compared with 54 for all of last year. Statewide, numbers are serious, as well. The Kane County Health Department reported this week there have been 1,200 cases of whooping cough in 2012, compared with the 1,500 cases in all of 2011. The state’s figure from last year marked a 40 percent increase over cases reported in 2010.

Today, Illinois ranks fifth nationally with four states — Wisconsin, Washington, Minnesota, and New York — as having more whooping cough cases, according to the department’s release.

Kane County Health Department spokesman Tom Schlueter, in an email on Wednesday, said the increase of pertussis in Kane County is not concentrated or confined to any one geographic area.

“More than half the cases are either younger than or older than school age,” he wrote. “In the last 10 years, we’ve had as high as 140 (pertussis cases) in 2004, and as low as 11 in 2008.”

But the disease is on the rise everywhere.

Vaccine’s Importance Touted

So it no wonder that, with the beginning of school rapidly approaching, health officials and organizations around Illinois are working together to raise awareness about the importance of protecting children against deadly diseases by getting vaccinated, the released stated.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention describes the whooping cough as among the most common vaccine-preventable illnesses occuring in the nation. While vaccinations against it are common nationally, the vaccine’s effectiveness decreases with time and requires a booster, called the Tdap, from time to time.

The county’s release states that most children are vaccinated against whooping cough before entering kindergarten. Children 11 years and older and unvaccinated adults should get this booster as soon as possible, according to the release. Whooping cough is transmitted easily in schools.

Parents should discuss Tdap and all recommended vaccines with their health care providers when taking their children for their back-to-school physicals. For vaccination schedules, visit the Centers for Disease Control’s website.

The state now requires that all students entering grades 6 and 9 must present proof of having received the Tdap if they are to attend classes, .

St. Charles Community Unit School District 303 outlines the immunization requirements on its Health Services web page.

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