“Seeing a lot of cases on the rise. Most of the cases started in the West Coast, in California, where a lot of people are not getting vaccinated and have since migrated to the east,” said Sinai Hospital physicians’ assistant Peter Andrews.

In 2011, the CDC reported more than 18,000 cases of whooping cough. That number skyrocketed this year, with more than 34,000 cases already.

Andrews says he saw a surge of cases in Maryland over the summer.

“Whooping cough can definitely be deadly. It is mainly most dangerous in the very young and the very old,” Andrews said.

Vaccination is the main form of prevention.

“I get shots every year still because I don’t want to spread anything to any children,” said student teacher Markie Robinson.

That’s why the school system wants parents on alert.

The CDC reports nearly 300 cases of whooping cough this year in Maryland, up from just 85 last year.

Symptoms of whooping cough include a low fever, runny nose and a cough that gets progressively worse.

Meghan McCorkell

Meghan McCorkell joined the Eyewitness News team in July 2011 as a General Assignment Reporter.
She came to Baltimore from Columbus, Ohio where she spent nearly three years at WSYX/WTTE. While there, she traveled to Haiti to cover relief efforts...