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By Kristina Duda, R.N., About.com Guide to Cold / Flu

Whooping Cough Making a Comeback

Friday May 22, 2009

Whooping cough (or pertussis) used to be a very common infection in the United States. Thanks to effective vaccination programs, the incidence has decreased dramatically.

In recent years however, we have seen an increase in the number of cases of whooping cough. It appears that the immunity that many of us gained from the vaccine has worn off and the disease is making a comeback.

Due to the increasing number of cases, the CDC has recommended that many people now get a booster of the pertussis vaccine, which can be included with tetanus in a Tdap. This is especially important for mothers and caregivers of young infants, as this age group is at the highest risk of death from this disease.

Learn about the Tdap vaccine and who needs it.

Have you or someone you know ever had whooping cough? Share your story to help teach others about this very serious disease.

Tell your story about whooping cough.

Photo courtesy: James Gathaney/Getty Images

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