Editor’s Note: Guest Writer Rafael Ruiz-Trejo contributed to this report.

Pioneer had a handful of whooping cough cases sweep through the school in early fall, prompting warning messages home from school officials. The district remains without a clear idea as to where the outbreak originated.

In a health advisory email sent to families on Oct. 4, Pioneer Principal Desmond Smith, warned, “You have likely been exposed to pertussis because more than one case has been identified at Pioneer and (that student) was at school for more than a week while they were contagious.”

Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, is a severe disease that is easily spread. It is also sometimes called the “100-day cough” because its symptoms persist. Symptoms include violent and rapid coughing, fever, and in severe cases, broken ribs (from the severe coughing) and pneumonia. The Washtenaw County Health Department cautions that whooping cough is far more than a typical cold. “Pertussis is more than just a cough,” they wrote in an alert letter included with Smith’s email to families. “Whooping cough causes effects such as severe coughing which can lead to broken ribs, vomiting, nose bleeds, or other side effects.”

The district was taken by surprise by how rapidly it spread within many schools. “We are concerned when there is a highly contagious illness appearing in our schools,” said Jenna Bacolor, the executive director of the district community division and health and well-being programs.

Pioneer school nurse Lauren Huissen said Pioneer had as many as five cases and worked closely with the county health department to prevent a wider spread.  “Anyone that’s identified as a close contact should start a five-day course of prophylactic antibiotics,” said Huissen. “Another step is making sure you’re updated on your Tdap ((tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis) vaccine, which protects against pertussis. And obviously, staying home whenyou’re sick is essential.”

There isn’t a clear idea as to where the illness originated and why it has suddenly popped up again in Washtenaw County, after having a very small number of cases over the past three years. However, the most likely reason for this sudden rise in cases, say health officials, is that the Tdap vaccine, which is meant to prevent whooping cough, is beginning to wear off for many teens.

The disease isn’t that major of an issue yet; however, there were cases in many schools in the district. “We’re not in an outbreak situation anywhere,” says Jenna Bacolor. “There’s probably been at least 10 schools. But a lot of schools have had around one case.”

A freshman at Pioneer High School, Vicky Kotsis, says that she would never want to experience whooping cough or its symptoms. “It sounds horrifying,” she said. “I would rather have COVID than whooping cough. I’m so glad that I have the vaccine.”

Even with the vaccine, however, studies show that teenagers can still catch pertussis. The Washtenaw County Health Department alert letter said, “Even with vaccine protection teens can get, and spread, pertussis to others in their home or social groups.”  Such cases of whooping cough, though,  are usually not as impactful to teenagers. Bacolor also notes that vaccinated people do tend to have milder cases.  “Typically, these cases are less severe than a case in a non-vaccinated individual,” she said.

Whooping cough is most dangerous to babies under 1 year of age, where the disease is extremely difficult to identify. Because of its cold-like symptoms, it can be mistaken for a common cold instead of whooping cough, which develops about one to two weeks after catching the disease. This is mainly the reason why the Washtenaw County Health Department is working so hard to eliminate the disease as soon as cases pop up.

Additionally, there is a long process that the district goes through to prevent infectious illnesses from spreading. Essentially, every single time there’s a case, the school nurse calls the local health department, and they do an investigation of who the close contacts are for that student. A special letter is then sent to those close contacts and their families which contains a 5-day antibiotics course called post-exposure prophylaxis.

Bacolor said her department and other school health officials are encouraging everyone to be safe during these times.Most importantly, they urge students and staff who are ill to stay home until they are no longer contagious.

“We don’t want students or staff to be sick, or get sick from a classmate,” Bacolor said.