Three cases of whooping cough in a Puyallup childcare facility during the past month have led the Tacoma Pierce County Health Department to urge preventative antibiotic treatments for all 45 children in the class.
In an advisory issued Wednesday, the Health Department recommended that parents treat all children exposed. The children range in age from 5 to 12 years. Health Department spokeswoman Bridget Vandeventer said that numbers are up in Pierce County this year for whooping cough, also known as pertussis.
"It's not really abnormal," she said, "but there is a spike in pertussis cases, and we're especially concerned with school starting this week."
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