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Whooping cough, also known as pertussis, is a contagious respiratory illness, but it is preventable with a common vaccine.

Across California, there were fewer than 300 reported cases of whooping cough, also known as pertussis, all of last year.

Current pertussis vaccines are widely used and effective at preventing whooping cough, caused by the Bordetella pertussis bacteria.

On Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published concerning new figures on whooping cough — caused by Bordatella pertussis bacterial infections — in the United States.

Nationwide, cases of pertussis, as the illness is formally known, are nearly three times higher in 2024 than during the first five months of 2023, according to data from the U.S.