Whopping Cough Outbreak Showing No Signs of Slowing Down

California is in the middle of their biggest outbreak of whooping cough in a half-century. To date, there have been 336 cases of whooping cough compared to 350 cases in all of 2009. Seven babies have died and without any sign of cases slowing down, it can only be expected that this number will certainly rise.

People who work with kids are being asked to get a booster vaccine to help stop the spread of the disease. The virus is on pace to at least double the number of cases that had been reported in recent years.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that whooping cough spikes are cyclical and that the organization sees spikes in the number of cases every three to five years. The last spike, reported by the CDC, was in 2005, when 25,000 cases of the disease were reported across the nation.

Children should get most vaccinations when they are babies. But, health professionals say they can work with parents to make certain their kids are adequately protected no matter the age.