By Steven Reinberg THURSDAY, July 19 (HealthDay News) -- The
number of whooping cough cases in the United States may hit a
record high this year, federal health officials reported
Thursday. "Many states are seeing higher than expected cases of
pertussis [whooping cough]," Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of the
National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said during a
noon news conference. Pertussis has already caused the death of
nine infants this year, she added. As of Thursday, almost 18,000
cases had been reported, Schuchat said. "That's more than twice
as many as we saw last year at this time. In fact, that's more
than we've seen in the past five years. We may be on track for a
record-high pertussis rate this year." Washington state
illustrates the troubling trend. Between January and June, more
than 2,500 cases of whooping cough were reported there, a 1,300
percent increase from 2011, health officials said. Most of these
cases were seen am