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Deschutes County Sees Concerning Jump in Pertussis Cases

BEND, OR -- Deschutes County is seeing a concerning number of whooping cough cases -- a highly contagious respiratory disease. This year, Deschutes County has confirmed 20 cases, vusus the 60 cases in all of 2014.

 

Heather Kaisner with the Deschutes County Health Department tells KBND News, "It's just continuing on from last year. We saw 60 cases and that's the highest number we've seen in decades, and we thought it would subside, but the numbers continue to increase. The concern is the more prevalent it is, the more likely it can spread to an infant."

 

She says the best defense against whopping cough or pertussis is a well-immunized community. Vaccines against the diseaes are recommended for all ages, but infants must take a series of shots to be fully immunized, and it takes a couple of years for them to be protected.

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