No New Cases of Whooping Cough in District 207, Despite Regional Increase

There has been an increase in the number of whooping cough cases in the suburbs of Chicago, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Illinois healthcare providers treated about 1,400 cases of the disease in 2011; a decade before that the number of cases was less than 100. For the story, visit the Chicago Tribune’s website.

Of the 264 cases of pertussis reported in 2011 in the four districts, 174 were reported in the North District, which includes Des Plaines. In the West District, 46 cases were reported, in the Southwest, 27 cases, and in the South District 17 cases of whooping cough were reported.

Earlier:

One case of whooping cough was reported at in December, and no new cases have been reported in the district since that time, said David Beery, director of communications.

When a case of whooping cough, also known as pertussis, is discovered, medical professionals are required to report it to the appropriate local health department, which in turn reports it to the school of the student, and assists in informing parents of other students at that school.

Des Plaines is one of 38 municipalities in the North District of suburban Cook County. The health department organizes the districts into North, West, South and Southwest, in order to regionalize data, said Amy Poore, director of public relations for the Cook County Department of Public Health in Oak Forest.

Messages left at Community Consolidated School District 62’s office were not returned at publication time.

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