According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), there are more cases of Pertussis, commonly known as whooping cough, in the United States now than there were at this time last year. Their website states that “Whooping cough is an endemic (common) disease in the United States; however, reports of pertussis cases were lower than usual over the past few years, during and following the COVID-19 pandemic, which is probably due to mitigation measures used during the pandemic (e.g., masking, remote learning). Now, the United States is beginning to return to pre-pandemic patterns where more than 10,000 cases are typically reported each year.”

Recently, both Sanborn Central and Woonsocket Schools reported in their daily announcements that the schools had been contacted by the Horizon Health Clinic of Woonsocket with information about Pertussis due to the rise in cases in South Dakota. In a short interview with local provider, Katlyn Rostyne, CNP for the clinic in Woonsocket, she reported that the clinic contacted the schools because there was an unconfirmed case detected in Sanborn County, but there has also been an outbreak in Hartford and at South Dakota State University in Brookings, so they thought it would be best to get information out to the communities. “With many of Sanborn County’s young people going to school at SDSU, it was the responsible thing to do to get people informed, and with the unconfirmed case in our area, we needed the schools to be aware and take action, as well.”

…Read on in this week’s issue of the Sanborn Weekly Journal!