SAD 51 is dealing with a minor outbreak of whooping cough, including one case at Greely Middle School.  File photo / The Forecaster

SAD 51 is dealing with a minor outbreak of whooping cough, according to Superintendent Jeff Porter, and the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention is monitoring the situation.

“Over the last month, we’ve had four confirmed cases at the high school and one confirmed case at the middle school,” though none of the students infected ever reached critical condition, said Porter.

The first case was reported at the end of September, and only one out of the four cases at the high school are still active, he said.

Whooping cough, also known as pertussis, is a highly contagious respiratory infection. The illness, which is only found in humans, is by the bacteria Bordetella pertussis. Early symptoms present similarly to a cold, but an infected person can experience coughing for weeks or months — much longer than the common cold.

Reported cases of whooping cough have surged around the country. According to CDC figures released in September, there were 3,475 cases of whooping cough in 2023, and 14,569 in the first 37 weeks of 2024. Experts attribute the increase to a dip in vaccination rates that began during the pandemic.

The whooping cough vaccines, called DTaP and Tdap, also protect against diphtheria and tetanus. According to materials shared by Porter, DTaP is required by the district for pre-K and kindergarten entry, and Tdap is required for seventh grade entry. Neither are required for 12th grade entry.

Porter said that the district is required to report the outbreak to the Maine CDC once there are three reported cases, and at that point they must also send out a district-wide communication about the illness. He said the reaction from the community after sending out the communication has been fairly muted.

“I thought maybe it might, you know, cause a little bit of alarm, but honestly it really hasn’t,” he said.

Yarmouth schools are not dealing with any cases of whooping cough, according to the Yarmouth School Department Superintendent Andrew Dolloff, and neither are Falmouth schools, according to Stephanie Motter, communications coordinator for the district.