County recommends whooping cough booster shot for all residents

SAN DIEGO – As the number of whooping cough (pertussis) cases continues to increase, officials from the County Health and Human Services Agency are encouraging everyone to get the proper vaccinations for the disease.

San Diego County has 266 cases of pertussis reported so far in 2010, with 15 infants hospitalized due to the disease. That number far surpasses last year’s total of 143 and is on course to break the record of 371 cases in 2005.

“We’re seeing a level of pertussis we haven’t seen in the last five years,” said Dr. Dean Sidelinger, M.D., M.S. Ed., Deputy County Public Health Off...