AMARILLO, Texas (KFDA) - As cold and flu season continues, Texas is seeing a significant increase in cases of pertussis, also known as whooping cough.

According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, over 3,500 cases of whooping cough have been reported in 2025.

Although there are still two months left in the heart of cold and flu season, this is already the highest number of reported cases in 11 years.

Experts attribute the jump to an increase in people going out post-pandemic and declining vaccination rate across the board.

“Now as people are definitely circulating around more, then we’re going to have more potential for spread. Our overall vaccination rates have gone down over time with most vaccines, so we see the same thing likely with pertussis and that may be contribu

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