7 CASES OF PERTUSSIS (BETTER KNOWN AS WHOOPING COUGH) HAVE BEEN REPORTED IN PACIFIC GROVE. THE HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS BACTERIAL DISEASE, WHICH CAN BE SPREAD VIA COUGHING AND SNEEZING, CAN BE PREVENTED WITH A VACCINATION. MOST OF THE CURRENT CASES ARE IN ADOLESCENTS. THE SYMPTOMS OF WHOOPING COUGH MAY INCLUDE A RUNNY NOISE, SNEEZING, AND A MILD COUGH……THAT DEVELOPS INTO SEVERE COUGHING FITS WITHIN A COUPLE WEEKS. CHILDREN YOUNGER THAN 6 MONTHS OLD ARE AT THE GREATEST RISK OF COMPLICATIONS FROM THE DISEASE, AND ONE OF THOSE COMPLICATIONS CAN BE PNEUMONIA.
