Two Cases Of Whooping Cough Reported At New Trier High School

(CBS) -- Two cases of whooping cough have been reported at New Trier Township High School in Winnetka.

These are the only two cases diagnosed so far at New Trier, something the school's Niki Dizon calls routine, for this time of year.

"We take seriously the reports of pertussis but this year there's absolutely nothing different than any other typical year," Dizon said.

Dizon says routine or not, parents are always notified when whooping cough is diagnosed.

"A couple times throughout the year most high schools including New Trier will just send out these notifications as protocol for following the Department of Health guidelines," Dizon said.

Whooping cough is very contagious, and after the uptick in cases in recent years, all incoming students in grades 6-12 are required to be vaccinated throughout Illinois.

Dr. Tina Tan, an infectious disease physician at Lurie's Children's Hospital, tells CBS 2's Marissa Bailey that "if not treated, it can be contagious for up to three weeks after a person develops the illness."

"It's a disease that really doesn't cause a lot of deaths in older children. Most of the deaths occur in very young infants who haven't been immunized.

It's people who skip immunizations or don't get a booster shot that keep pertussis cases popping up.

279 people in Illinois were diagnosed this year and70 of those cases were in Chicago. City health officials say that number is down 27 percent since this time last year.

Once a child is diagnosed with pertussis and has started antibiotics, Dr. Tan says kids should stay home from school for five days.