Officials in Livingston County report 4 cases of whooping cough in the area in the last month. There have been 7 in the past year.
Kathy Root is the director of patient services at the Livingston County Department of Health.
Whooping Cough—or pertussis—is a bacterial lung infection that can resemble a cold. In the worst cases, it develops violent coughing fits.
"Pertussis has been circulating more prevalently in the last ten or fifteen years and that’s why they’re encouraging all adults to get an additional Tdap vaccine, which is a tetanus vaccine, along with pertussis," says Root.
Infants are first vaccinated against the disease at 2 months old. Before that, they are at the highest risk of contracting the infection.