The number of cases of pertussis, or whooping cough as it is commonly known, have doubled in Mariposa County in the past week. According to Mariposa County Public Health Officer Dr. Charles Mosher there are now four confirmed cases of the disease in the county.

As of July 13, four youths ages 10 to 17, have been positively diagnosed with the disease. “For our small county, this is a high number,” a health department warning reads. “And it will likely go higher.”

The disease has reached epidemic levels in California, jumping from 258 cases last year at this time to 1,337 this year. “Things are changing exceedingly quickly,” Mosher told the Mariposa County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. “It’s moving a whole lot faster than H1N1,” the influenza that hit the county hard last fall.

Dr. Mosher is urging everyone, including healthcare and daycare providers, to think about pertussis. “A lot of us have never seen whooping cough and are not aware of how serious it is,” Mosher said. Many people are inadequately protected against whooping cough because immunity decreases with time. Even people who have had the disease are not immune after several years.

Vaccinations are also a problem. “Too many people have not had their children vaccinated,” the health department warning states. “Or their vaccination is out of date.”

Pertussis can be successfully treated with antibiotics. The health department has called in extra help nurses to help deal with the extra workload created by those who might have been exposed to the confirmed cases of whooping cough.

The health department is working to “cocoon” around infants in the county and is urging adults to get a booster vaccination. For more information about the disease, which is characterized by a serious cough, call the health department at 966-3689, visit www.mariposa county.org/health or call the Mariposa County information line at 966-1133.