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Nearly 200 Cases Of Whooping Cough Reported In NM

By KRWG News

New Mexico – ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRWG) Whooping cough is spreading across the state. Whooping cough is a highly contagious bacterial respiratory infection putting infants most at risk. The New Mexico Department of Health says cases of whooping cough or pertussis are up, especially in Bernalillo County.

State Department of Health epidemiologist Dr. Chad Smelser says there are 188 confirmed, probable and suspected pertussis cases in the state and 130 of those have been reported in Bernalillo County.

Smelser tells KRQE-TV (http://bit.ly/tE7gFf ) the department started seeing an increase in cases last year, but before that cases had been down for the last several years.

Also, a jump in cases can be attributed to whooping cough turning up in a large population centers like Albuquerque.

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Information from: KRQE-TV, http://www.krqe.com

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. KRWG