Q: I’ve been seeing a lot of news stories about whooping cough. Is there really another illness that we need worry about? What is whooping cough, and how do you get it? What is the treatment? I

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.

Whooping cough is at its highest level in a decade for this time of year, U.S. health officials reported Thursday. There have been 18,506 cases of whooping cough reported so far, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

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.

Whooping cough usually peaks every three to five years, and the latest numbers indicate a return to levels before the pandemic.