By BJ Austin, KERA News
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-823934.mp3
Dallas, TX – North Texas is seeing a spike in "whooping cough". Last year, Tarrant County reported 240 cases; three times as many as the year before.
And the Health Department's Vanessa Joseph says cases of whooping cough this year are accelerating.
Joseph: Just in January '09 of this year we had 19 cases reported. Now you can compare that to what we had last year at the same time when we had four cases.
In Dallas County, whooping cough cases increased about 40% in 2008. Most of the Dallas and Tarrant County cases were children under 14.
Health officials say pertussis, or whooping cough, vaccinations and BOOSTER shots are extremely important. Whooping cough is highly contagious, and doctors recommend treatment of the entire family and close contacts upon diagnosis.