Whooping cough cases are continuing to rise in the United States, with new data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showing that there are five times as many cases this year than at this point in time last year.

Five times as many cases of the potentially fatal illness have been reported so far in 2024, compared with the same time last year.

U.S. health officials say whooping cough is at its highest level in a decade for this time of year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday that so far this year there have been about 18,

At least two students have come down with the highly contagious infection at Montgomery High School in Santa Rosa, and students were potentially exposed at Analy High in Sebastopol.

Only four years since 1958 have seen a higher number of whooping cough cases, according to the Washington state Department of Health.

Whooping Cough has been identified in a few students at South Dakota State University. In an email to students and faculty, the South Dakota Department of Health said they found “a few cases” at the school.

There have been 18,506 cases of whooping cough reported so far, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. That’s the most at this point in the year since 2014, when cases topped