Newest Local Whooping Cough Cases Don't Test Out Says MCDH

The McHenry County Department of Health Tuesday confirmed that two suspected cases of whooping cough in District 158 schools last week didn't test out as pertussis.  Spokesman Deborah Quackenbush said, however, MCDH has found four cases so far this year in Lake in the Hills and Huntley with another two confirmed in District 300 schools in Algonquin.

The early outbreak follows a record season for whooping cough in McHenry County last year when more 400 cases were confirmed. Most in Cary and Woodstock but a goodly number locally as well.  Quackenbush said there are worries "this might just be a continuation of last year."

Although not often fatal, pertussis spreads easily since victims can be infectious both before the characteristic "whooping" cough shows up and after it goes away, too.  Besides, physicians have recently found that baby immunizations against the disease tend to wear out about when the kids hit puberty.

MCDH's pertussis precautions (get a booster shot, wash hands a lot) are located in a fact sheet here:
http://www.co.mchenry.il.us/departments/health/pdfDocs/SchoolNurse/CD/Pertussis%20FAQ.pdf