http://www.pjstar.com/stories/021705/REG_B5K2FILT.046.shtml"havana - Mason County health officials have confirmed four cases of whooping cough already in 2005, prompting state and local official to step up containment efforts and deem the situation serious.
Charles Jennings of the Illinois Department of Public Health said labs confirmed the first area case of whooping cough, or pertussis, in November, making five cases in about three months. Those numbers are considered very high for the rural county with about 16,000 residents.
Peoria County, with a population of about 183,000, had only nine cases last year and one so far in 2005, said health department epidemiologist Lisa Dallmeyer.
"That's pretty much average for a year," Dallmeyer said. "If I was in Mason County, I'd be very concerned right now."
Jennings said he had to go back "quite a few years" prior to 2004 to find another pertussis case in Mason County."
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