California's whooping cough epidemic has reached 5,270 cases, the highest number since the 4,949 cases reported in 1955, the state's health department said this week. The epidemic of the highly contagious bacterial infection has claimed the lives of nine infants this year. All of them were too young to be fully immunized against the illness, the Associated Press reported. Typically, babies receive a series of whooping cough vaccinations, followed by booster shots between the ages of 4 and 6 and again after they're 10 years old. Booster shots are recommended every 10 years for adults. Last week, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill that will require all junior and high school students in the state to get booster shots against whooping cough before the start of school in 2011. That requirement will be extended to students entering grade 7 in the fall of 2012, the AP reported.
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