A spike in whooping cough cases in November has prompted the DuPage County Health Department to send an alert to schools, day-care centers and physicians.
Last month, 17 cases of pertussis, mostly in children and adolescents, were reported to health authorities. the year-to-date total in DuPage County is 57 cases, compared to 26 in 2009.
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“Our intention is to break the cycle,” said David Hass, health department spokesman. “If people are ill, we want people to stay home.”
Pertussis is a highly infectious illness with a distinctive “whooping” cough that can be severe enough to trigger vomiting or crack a rib. most people recover completely.
However, the disease can be life-threatening to those in high-risk groups, especially babies under 1 year and children who have not been fully immunized.
Early symptoms include a runny nose, slight fever and mild occasional cough lasting for at least two weeks.
Whooping cough patients must stay home until at least five days after starting antibiotic therapy, health authorities said.
Frequent hand washing and covering coughs and sneezes also can help prevent the spread.
Infants and young children receive a series of vaccines against pertussis (along with diphtheria and tetanus) during their first five years. a booster vaccine is recommended for adults and adolescents at age 11 or older.
The highest incidence of whooping cough in DuPage County so far occurred in 2004, when there were 127 cases.