As the State of Arkansas has hit its highest number of whooping cough cases in 15 years, a local health official tells us about the illness and what to do if you get it.The Arkansas Health Department announced Tuesday the state has reported more than 500 cases of Pertussis, commonly known as whooping cough, in 2025. That is the most cases since 2010 and over 50 counties have reported at least one case.
Stephanie Free is the Infection Prevention Coordinator at Baxter Health in Mountain Home. She says they have had two cases in the local hospital, one in August and one in September. She says that doesn’t mean there aren’t more cases in the area.
The Arkansas Department of Health says for 2025, the majority of pertussis cases in Arkansas were reported among school-aged children and teenagers. At least 50 people were hospitalized due to pertussis, which was 10 percent of the total reported cases. More than 60 percent of those hospitalized were infants younger than one year of age. There was one death related to pertussis this year.
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