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Whooping Cough Outbreak Hits Arizona, Officials Urge Vaccinations
Source: ABC15.com (Phoenix)
By: Vetscher, Tim
07/24/2012
Health officials in Arizona are encouraging anyone who spends time around infants to get vaccinated against whooping cough. The potentially deadly illness has dramatically risen nationwide, and the Arizona Department of Health Services is on high alert. Dr. Karen Lewis with the Arizona Department of Health Services says the illness becomes highly contagious without the vaccine. “Teenagers and adults get this chronic cough and they don’t realize it’s whooping cough and they pass it on to babies who die from it,” said Dr. Lewis. Nearly 18,000 cases of whooping cough have been reported across the country this year.
