Whooping cough cases are climbing at the fastest pace in years as students across America return to school, U.S. health officials reported Thursday.

Whooping cough cases have gone up in the U.S. compared to last year, according to new statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) this week.  There have been 14,569

14,569 cases of whooping cough have been reported in total for 2024 so far — four times higher than the agency's reported totals from this time last year. Whooping cough can last for weeks to months, with symptoms normally appearing about a week after first being exposed to a contagious person with the infection.