| By Big Radio News Staff |

Rock County reports an unusually high count of whooping cough cases.

Rock County Health Officer Katrina Harwood says 42 cases of the disease have been confirmed.

Sixty-two percent of those have occurred in people between 10 and 19 years old. Up to 17% of those who had the disease never received a dose of the vaccine that prevents it.

Ninety-seven percent of Rock County cases included coughing, but only 30% reported having the characteristic “whoop.”

Harwood says pertussis is highly contagious and can be spread even before people start feeling symptoms.

Pertussis cases are most serious in young children and infants. Wisconsin’s Department of Health Services says 11 infants with pertussis have been hospitalized this year across the state. No deaths have been reported.

DHS put out a statewide alert about an increase in pertussis cases back in September.