3 more whooping cough cases reported in Lexington high schools
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Lexington-Fayette Health reports 11 pertussis cases, three new at local high schools
- Eight cases involve Dunbar and Lafayette High; others include two elementary schools
- Health officials urge vaccination and hygiene after previous 2024 pertussis outbreak
Three more whooping cough cases have been reported to the Lexington-Fayette County Health department, raising the total case count in the county since October to 11.
The three new cases are from Paul Laurence Dunbar and Lafayette high school students, according to the health department. All 11 cases involve children, with 10 being school-aged kids and the other being a 1-year-old baby.
The high schools account for eight of the 11 reported cases. The health department said the other cases come from Lansdowne Elementary School and Lexington Christian Academy.
A majority of the cases were reported as of Oct. 24.
There are no known connections between the cases. Every child was up-to-date on their vaccinations, the health department said.
There was a whopping cough outbreak in Fayette County in spring 2024, with at least 24 confirmed cases.
Whooping cough, also known as pertussis, is a highly infectious bacterial disease involving the respiratory tract. It is caused by bacteria in the mouth, nose and throat of an infected person.
The early symptoms are similar to a common cold, but the cough often gets worse after several weeks, changing from a dry, hacking cough to bursts of uncontrollable, sometimes violent, coughing, according to the health department.
Recognizing early symptoms will not only help people get treatment and get better sooner, it reduces the risk of spreading the disease to others.
The best way to prevent the spread of whooping cough is to ensure you’re up-to-date on the vaccine. Good hygiene can also help limit the spread.
“Vaccines are one of the major achievements of modern medicine, helping eradicate diseases,” Dr. Crystal Miller, Commissioner of Health at the health department, said in a news release. “Pertussis (aka whooping cough) is one of those vaccine preventable diseases. We encourage families to get their children vaccinated and stay up to date on vaccines.”
Whooping cough vaccines
The pertussis vaccine is part of the routine childhood vaccination series and is required for schools in Kentucky. There are two types of whooping cough/pertussis vaccines — the initial DTaP and the booster Tdap shots, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
The first variety, the DTaP vaccines, protects young children from diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis. According to the clinic, by the age of 7, a child should receive five shots of the pertussis vaccine.
Additionally, preteens, teens and adults should get a Tdap booster every 10 years, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
The rate of Kentucky children who have received all five DTaP doses by age 6 varies from 10.52% on the low end to 38.68% on the high end, according to the Immunize Kentucky Coalition, citing state immunization registry data from 2020.
Nearly 20% of Fayette County 6-year-olds have received five doses of the DTaP vaccine, giving them a high rate of protection against pertussis until their preteens, when immunity begins to wane and a booster dose is recommended.
Jefferson County, Kentucky’s most populous county, has the lowest five-dose DTaP vaccination rate in the state, with just 10.52% of 6-year-olds having received all five doses. The highest, at 38.68%, is Grayson County in the southwest portion of the state.
This story was originally published November 11, 2025 at 11:14 AM.
