WACO, Texas (KWTX) - Texas has seen a massive increase in cases of Pertussis, better known as Whooping Cough.

A rise they are noticing in McLennan County.

“For This year, we have 67 cases and that’s about 3-times what we had last year,” said Clare Paul, Senior Communications Specialist, Waco McLennan County Health District.

In 2023, there were 340 cases of Pertussis reported in Texas.

That number jumped to over 1,900 in 2024 and 3,500 so far this year.

“It could be declining vaccination rates,” said Paul. “It could be that are just cases of Pertussis out there that haven’t been diagnosed and so it’s out there in the county and it’s just spreading, or it could be that we’re just getting better at diagnosing it.”

Whatever the reason, going from a few hundred to several thousand in less

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