County Surpasses Record for Whooping Cough Cases

It's not a record any county wants to break. 

This past week, the McHenry County Health Department reported the county surpassed its record for number of whooping cough cases with 192 with the highly infectious disease. The former record was set in 2004 with 191 cases. 

The outbreak has spread to neighboring counties.

Throughout the Chicago suburbs and the state, whooping cough cases continue to grow. According to a Triblocal article posted Monday, nearly 500 residents in McHenry, Lake and DuPage counties had whooping cough — "the most in more than five years."

The Illinois Department of Health reported 1,019 cases throughout the state as of Thursday, according to Triblocal.

As of Nov. 30, with 164 cases reported in the county, the most cases — 54 — were reported in Cary. The other communities with the most cases in the county included Woodstock with 34 whooping cough cases, Crystal Lake with 20 cases and Lake in the Hills with 15 cases. The health department has graphs detailing the breakdown of other communities affected.

Patch.com has additional information below on vaccination suggestions, symptoms, treatment and a timeline detailing the outbreak in McHenry County: 

• Find all of our coverage on the whooping cough outbreak here. 
• Find information on vaccination suggestions, symptoms and treatment for the whopping cough. 
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides additional information on the whooping cough.