Whooping cough case reported in Hauppauge

A probable case of whooping cough at Hauppauge High School brings to 213 the number of 2012 cases -- the majority confirmed, with a few still being investigated -- in Suffolk County, according to a spokeswoman for the Suffolk County Department of Health Services.

The community was notified about the case through a letter dated April 30 from the Division of Public Health that is posted on the Hauppauge Public Schools' website. The student affected is already back in school, said Patricia Sullivan-Kriss, school superintendent.

"Please be advised that we have had another case of pertussis at Hauppauge High School," the letter says. "Suffolk County has seen an increase in pertussis, a respiratory illness also known as 'whooping cough,' " the letter goes on to say.

So far this year there have been 12 reported cases, eight of them confirmed, associated with the Hauppauge School District, said Suffolk health department spokeswoman Grace Kelly-McGovern.

Other school districts notified in April of reported cases include Sachem, Springs, Mattituck, Southold, Smithtown, East Hampton, Bay Shore, Commack, Connetquot, West Babylon and Ronkonkoma, she said.

According to New York State figures, the number of confirmed pertussis cases in Suffolk for 2011 is 299, with 15 probable cases, Kelly-McGovern said. Those numbers may change "as the state continues to investigate and decides if each case meets 'case definition,' " she said.

In Nassau County, 42 cases of whooping cough were confirmed from Jan. 1 to April 30, a spokeswoman for the Nassau County Department of Health said. Nassau had 71 confirmed cases in 2011, she said.