Whooping cough cases on the rise in Polk County

BARTOW, Fla. - People in Polk County have a better reason now to get up to date on their shots. Health officials say there has been a spike in the number of cases of whooping cough in the county, along with a recent case of measles.

So far this year there have been 22 reported cases of the potentially life threatening illness also known as Pertusis. That's up from 13 cases all of last year.

"Probably the reason why that is happening is people are not necessarily vaccinating their children as regularly as we hope," said Dr. Daniela Chiriboga, Senior Physician at the Polk County Health Department.

Whooping cough is a highly contagious illness, mostly spread among young children. For kids, the main symptom is a constant cough that Chiriboga says sounds like a dog barking.

Adults can also catch whooping cough, but it's usually not as severe.

That's not the only illness that is keeping the clinic busy as of late. Recently, doctors came across the county's first case of measles in years.

"The person who had it was not from Polk County," Chiriboga said. "She had just stopped to visit on her way back into the country."

Health officials say that patient has since recovered from the illness. They are keeping a close eye to ensure no other cases pop up.

"We need to keep protecting ourselves against this type of infection," she said.

The health department is being careful not to scare anyone about this trend, but officials say it's important to put the spotlight on the simple solution: getting vaccinated.