Washtenaw County is seeing a sharp increase in cases of pertussis, or whooping cough, compared to the previous three years, with 21 cases in 2024, the local health department announced Thursday. For 10 years before the COVID-19 pandemic, the county saw between 50-100 cases of the bacterial disease each year. Levels dropped lower than usual across the country for the last few years but are returning to pre-pandemic levels, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There have been more than three times as many pertussis cases to date in 2024 than there were by the same point in 2023, according to the CDC. "Pertussis, unfortunately, seems to be returning," said Laura Bauman, Washtenaw County Health Department epidemiology program manager, in a news release. "It's important for us to identify and treat cases as soon as possible because illness from pertussis can be serious, especially for infants." The Washtenaw cases have been in teens and young
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