Students in Pullman public schools are returning to school after winter break amid an uptick in whooping cough cases.

Whitman County Public Health identified four cases in two different Pullman elementary schools in mid-December 2024.

After a case was identified in a Pullman public school, WCPH notified Pullman School District lead nurse Michelle Hyatt and advised her on a course of action, Hyatt said.

For the cases identified in December, WCPH advised Hyatt to send letters to faculty and parents of students potentially exposed.

“We work very closely with the Whitman County [Public Health], and so they help us to navigate any procedures or protocols that we would need to follow,” said Superintendent Dr. Bob Maxwell,.

“[Whooping cough is] a great concern because it’s in the community,” he said. “If we continue to see those numbers rise, that would be an extra concern that we would have.”

Dr. Maxwell said the last time whooping cough cases were elevated was before COVID-19.

At the end of 2024, there were 86 reported cases of whooping cough in Whitman County, up drastically from one reported case in 2023.

Hyatt said there have not been any identified cases in Pullman public schools in 2025.