Whooping Cough Outbreak Slowing In MN
by Associated Press
October 05, 2012 9:10 AM
Minnesota health officials say an outbreak of whooping cough appears to be slowing in the state.
In the past two weeks another 190 cases were confirmed. That's nearly the same number of cases that were reported for just one week in mid-September.
Claudia Miller of the Minnesota Department of Health says the drop in cases is a good sign. But she says there is still a lot of the disease circulating in the community.
Whooping cough, also known as pertussis, causes a persistent, severe cough that sometimes lasts for months.
In total, Minnesota has confirmed more than 3,700 cases of the bacterial infection. That's the highest number since the 1940s, before a vaccine was developed.
Three-quarters of the cases have occurred in vaccinated people.
