http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/whooping-cough-surges-us-16282723
With over 1200 cases confirmed in Washington as of 5/10/12, and 169 in Oregon, including 2 in Hood River and Wasco Counties, it’s never been a better time to make sure your children (and you!) have updated your immunizations recently. Current vaccines given to adolescents and older for tetanus (the TDaP vaccine) also protect against pertussis (known as “whooping cough” for the characteristic sound of difficulty in breathing classic, but not always present, with this germ. Though we are in peak allergy season now also, anyone with a chronic cough lasting 2 weeks or longer should be evaluated to distinguish between pertussis and other causes of cough.