As pertussis surges in state, schools report cases

As the number of cases of pertussis soar in Wisconsin to a level 10 times higher than last year, the Port Washington-Saukville School District has announced four of its students had confirmed cases of what is also known as whooping cough as of last week.

Of the four students, one attends Dunwiddie Elementary School. The other three are Port Washington High School students, Supt. Michael McMahon said.

The district notified parents of the pertussis cases last week and quickly wound up in the spotlight, despite the fact that whooping cough is being reported throughout the state and nation and the Port-Saukville School District is not the only one with cases.

“Districts have the option of sending letters, and we did that last week to notify parents of the cases because we’re trying to be super transparent,” McMahon said. “Maybe that’s why people are zeroing in on us.”

A Milwaukee television news crew was in Port last week reporting on the cases.

“I told WISN I was happy to talk but this isn’t isolated to Port,” McMahon said.

The district is consulting with the Washington Ozaukee Public Health Department, and while health organizations including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention do not recommend additional mitigation measures such as specific cleaning procedures for pertussis, the district plans to do a deep cleaning of its buildings on Wednesday as students head home for the Thanksgiving break, McMahon said.

According to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, it has received reports of 625 confirmed cases of pertussis since Sept. 13 compared to just 51 cases reported in all of last year. Since the beginning of this year, two-thirds of Wisconsin counties have reported at least one case, according to the department.

Wisconsin residents ages 11 to 18 currently account for nearly half the cases reported this year, although the illness afflicts people of all ages.

“While it’s not uncommon for Wisconsin to see more cases of whooping cough compared to other years, this year there has already been more than 10 times as many cases as were reported in all of 2023,” Stephanie Schauer, immunization program manager for the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, said in a statement. “Whooping cough can be very serious, especially for infants. The best way to protect yourself and others is to stay up to date on your vaccines.”

Pertussis is a serious respiratory illness that can lead to complications such as pneumonia or death, especially in very young people. It begins with cold-like symptoms and develops into a serious cough that can last as long as several months. Coughing fits can be marked by difficulty breathing, gagging or vomiting, and some people may have a high-pitched “whoop” after they cough.

According to health experts, the pertussis vaccine is the best way to prevent the illness or reduce its severity. The CDC recommends different vaccine doses for different age groups.

n Children should receive five doses of DTap vaccine from age 2 months to 6 years.

n Children between the ages of 11 and 12 should receive one dose of Tdap vaccine.

n Adults who have never had a pertussis vaccine should receive one does of Tdap.

n People who are pregnant should receive Tdap between 27 and 36 weeks of pregnancy, during each pregnancy, to protect their babies after they are born but before they are old enough to receive their own vaccinations.