Spokane schools, health district caution about high number of whooping cough cases

Health officials and Spokane Public Schools are cautioning parents about a high number of whooping cough cases in Spokane County this winter.

The school district released a letter to parents Tuesday evening from Spokane Regional Health District urging families to look for signs and symptoms of the contagious disease. Fifty-one cases have been reported to the health district since November, with two-thirds of them reported in school-aged children, according to the letter issued by the health district.

Whooping cough, also known as pertussis, has the same symptoms as the common cold initially, including a runny nose and cough. The cough worsens over the next several weeks and also commonly includes a low-grade fever, according to the health district.

Families are encouraged to keep their child’s immunizations up to date. If you suspect your child may have contracted whooping cough, you should take them to see their health care provider. Children who may be contagious should be kept home from school.

An outbreak of whooping cough sickened 122 people in southwest Idaho in 2018. The disease was declared an epidemic in Washington state in 2012, infecting 1,800 residents during the first five months of that year.