Whooping Cough Outbreak In Texas - August 2013: Officials Identify Nearly 2,000 Cases - Symptoms, Vaccine and Treatment

Texas may soon have the largest number of whooping cough cases in over 50 years as health officials have identified nearly 2,000 cases in the state.

1,935 cases, with two deaths, have been reported in the state as of Aug. 27, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. However, the number of cases is projected to exceed the 3,358 reported in 2009, the Texas Department of State Health Services said.

"This is extremely concerning. If cases continue to be diagnosed at the current rate, we will see the most Texas cases since the 1950s," Dr. Lisa Cornelius, the department's infectious diseases medical officer, reports UPI.com. "Pertussis is highly infectious and can cause serious complications, especially in babies, so people should take it seriously."

While whooping cough, or pertussis, can be easily prevented with vaccination, the numbers are rising as more parents fear that vaccinations are harmful and others fail to take their children to receive booster shots.

The CDC recommends five doses within the first six years of life, or that all pregnant women get the vaccination between the 27th and 36th week of pregnancy.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 27,550 cases were reported in 2010, the most since 1959 when there were about 40,000 cases.

Pertussis is caused by the spread of the Bordetella pertussis bacterium through coughing and sneezing and can resemble a bad cold.

"Pertussis is highly infectious and can cause serious complications, especially in babies, so people should take it seriously," said Dr. Cornelius.

Once you become infected with whooping cough, it can take one to three weeks for signs and symptoms to appear. They're usually mild at first and include runny nose, nasal congestion, sneezing, red, watery eyes, fever and dry cough. After a week or two, signs and symptoms worsen as hick mucus accumulates inside your airways, causing uncontrollable coughing.

Infants who contract the cough often require hospitalization, whereas children and adults can be treated with antibiotics.

Antibiotics kill the bacteria causing whooping cough and help speed recovery. Family members may be given preventive antibiotics. Unfortunately, not much is available to relieve the cough. Over-the-counter cough medicines, for instance, have little effect on whooping cough and are discouraged.