Whooping cough — highly contagious and potentially dangerous — has surged in California to levels not seen since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

California's cases of whooping cough are more than six times as high as last year, and in Los Angeles County, reports of the infectious disease rose by nearly 119%. It reflects a trend seen across the U.

After dropping to zero cases in 2021 and notching just 16 in 2023, Whooping cough has surged this year in Kane County, with 92 cases on record so far. Also known as pertussis, whooping cough

The Ontario County Health Department is reporting an increase in the number of whooping cough cases in the county. As of Nov. 25, most of the cases reported have been in college-aged students, but Public Health Director Kate Ott said it is concerning there has been such an increase since 2023.

As whooping cough case numbers in Whitman County continue to rise, Pullman Chancellor David Cillay encourages residents not to travel if they are experiencing symptoms. The first case of whooping cough in WSU Pullman’s community was reported in late September,

The medical term for whooping cough is pertussis, which is a highly contagious bacterial infection that can be spread through coughing or sneezing.

More than 200 cases of pertussis, or whooping cough, have been reported in Arkansas so far this year, which is more than five times as high as the number reported last year, the state Department of Health said Wednesday.

Cases of whooping cough rising in California in 2024