By Melissa Patrick

Kentucky Health News

State health officials have announced that a third infant has died from pertussis, or whooping cough, in Kentucky in the past 12 months.

“We are deeply saddened to learn of another infant death in Kentucky due to pertussis and are concerned by the volume of cases we are seeing throughout the Commonwealth,” Dr. Steven Stack, secretary of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, said in a news release.

As of Nov. 19, the state health department reports that there have been 566 cases of whooping cough identified in Kentucky, with health officials anticipating additional cases in the final weeks of the year.

The Kentucky Department for Public Health reports that none of the three infants who died from whooping cough had been vaccinated, nor had t

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