Boise schools warn of ‘widespread’ whooping cough. Idaho cases make massive jump
The Boise School District has warned parents and staff of a “widespread” whooping cough outbreak in the community and across Idaho.
The school district sent a notice that shared information about how to reduce spread of the highly contagious respiratory illness also known as pertussis. The health alert came about two months after Timberline High School informed parents that their children may have been exposed to whooping cough after “a couple” of cases were diagnosed in students, the Idaho Statesman previously reported.
Dan Hollar, a spokesperson for the school district, said the notice Dec. 18 was prompted by what the school district is observing in its schools and what it’s hearing from the Idaho Immunization Coalition and Central District Health, the health district that serves Ada County.
He said the earlier whooping cough cases at Timberline contributed to a “heightened vigilance” as the area continues to see reports of infections.
Pertussis is known as whooping cough because of the high-pitched “whoop” sounds a person makes after inhaling at the end of a coughing fit. The coughing fits can last for weeks or even months and be rapid and uncontrollable, according to Central District Health. Other symptoms include a runny nose, congestion, difficulty breathing and fever.
In September, the two health districts serving the Treasure Valley, Central District Health and Southwest District Health, which serves Canyon County, issued a joint news release warning of a “sharp increase” in cases of the illness. The health districts said the region had seen 171 cases of whooping cough as of Sept. 5, with most in Ada County. Last year, there were only 10.
It’s not just the Boise area that’s now seeing a spike in infections.
Across the state, whooping cough cases are up more than 20 times year over year, according to data from the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. Cases have also skyrocketed nationwide, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
Dr. Christine Hahn, an epidemiologist at the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, said numbers were low during the COVID-19 pandemic as schools closed and people skipped travel, socially distanced and took other precautions like wearing face masks.
As of Thursday, Dec. 19, the state had tallied more than 1,000 cases in 2024. Last year, there were less than 50, according to data from the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.
“We think that those types of behavior changes protected people from getting infected,” Hahn said Thursday by phone. “But life has gotten back to normal. We are concerned that we have a large group of kids who’ve never been exposed before that are now all at once getting exposed to pertussis, and at the same time, our vaccination rates are not where they need to be.”
Idaho has the lowest vaccination rates for children in the U.S., according to the CDC. In the 2022-23 school year, the state’s vaccination rate for pertussis was the worst in the nation at 81%, the Idaho Statesman previously reported.
Infants are at the greatest risk of getting whooping cough and having severe complications from it, the CDC says.
Hahn encouraged people to get the vaccine. Pertussis is part of the Tdap vaccine, a series of shots that also protect against tetanus and diphtheria, she said. In many cases, whooping cough can be altogether prevented or made less severe if a person is vaccinated. You can find a pharmacy or clinic that offers the vaccine by going to vaccines.gov and entering your zip code.
Adults and teens, even if vaccinated as children, are susceptible because the immunization wears off over time, according to Hahn.
“To be fully vaccinated against pertussis and fully protected by the time a kiddo starts kindergarten, they should have received five doses of that vaccine,” she said. “We rarely, rarely see diphtheria or tetanus in Idaho. But unfortunately, for pertussis, the vaccine works well for a couple of years and then it starts to wear off before you’re due, possibly, for your next booster.”
The five-dose series recommended for infants and young children involves getting the shot at two months old, four months old, six months old, one year old and then another before starting kindergarten.
Most of the whooping cough cases in the Boise School District have been in its elementary and high schools, Hollar said.
He said the school district does not track cases by school, but does notify Central District Health of any cases reported among students. Hollar did not say how many cases have been reported this month. He said the school district has observed a “consistent presence” of whooping cough cases in its schools since late August. When the school district learns of a specific case, it notifies parents or guardians, he added.
Hahn said Central District Health, which covers Boise, Eagle, Meridian and up to McCall and Mountain Home, was reporting about 30-40 new cases of whooping cough a week just a few weeks ago. For the last couple of weeks, that number has dropped to around 10-12 cases a week, she said.
“Now, we know that those mild cases, those people who have very mild symptoms, we’re probably not even hearing about those,” Hahn said. “So we know we’re just hearing about the tip of the iceberg.”
She said public health officials are hopeful the region will start to see a decline in cases, but it’s too soon to say.
“We can protect ourselves from lots of different diseases,” Hahn said. “Staying home when you’re sick, covering your cough and all those boring messages that we always put out there, they’re all effective and can help keep you and your loved ones safe during the holidays.”
This story was originally published December 21, 2024 at 4:00 AM.
