The whooping cough epidemic in California that's killed nine infants has reached at least 4,017 reported cases and appears likely to break the 1955 record of 4,949 cases in the state. The highly contagious bacterial infection tends to peak during summer months, but new cases could continue to occur over the next few weeks, Dr. Gil Chavez, an epidemiologist for the California Department of Health, told the Associated Press. Nationwide, there have been 11,466 reported cases of whooping cough (pertussis) as of Sept. 12, according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. That's 519 more cases than at the same time last year. Other states with high numbers of whooping cough infections include Texas (1,783 reported cases) and Ohio (1,019 reported cases), said the AP
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