Whooping cough cases in Wisconsin are 10 times higher than last year, with case counts reaching pre-pandemic levels, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services said in a news release on Thursday. As of Sept. 13, DHS had logged 625 confirmed cases of whooping cough, or pertussis, in 2024. That's compared to 51 cases last year.

As of Sept. 12, 2024, Minnesota had recorded 706 cases of whooping cough, more than 11 times higher than in 2023, when 61 cases were tracked for the whole year.

Wisconsin health officials are urging residents to make sure their children are up to date on the whooping cough vaccine as they notice an uptick in cases. Whooping cough, formally known as pertussis,