Pertussis persists

Whooping cough is making rounds in California, particularly among infants and children younger than 18 years old.

So far in 2014, the state has received reports of 2,649 cases of whooping cough, or pertussis, more than the number of cases reported in all of last year, according to a California Department of Public Health press release. More than 80 percent of the cases have affected children younger than 18. Of the pediatric cases, about eight percent were younger than 6 months old. Infants too young to be fully immunized are most vulnerable to severe and fatal cases of pertussis; two infant deaths have been reported this year.

The release encouraged pregnant women receive a pertussis booster during their third trimester, while an infant’s first pertussis vaccination is recommended as early as two months old.