Dozens more whooping cough cases have been confirmed in Texas in the week since state officials issued a health alert.
The Texas Department of State Health Services reports 2,160 pertussis cases this year as of Tuesday. Spokesman Chris Van Deusen said Wednesday that whooping cough has been relatively widespread with no big area of concentration.
DSHS on Sept. 3 announced Texas is on track for more pertussis cases than any year since the 1950s and urged vaccinations. Nearly 2,000 cases were reported at the time of the health advisory.
Officials say the state's annual total for cases linked to the bacterial infection will likely top the recent high of 3,358 cases in 2009.
Two infants with whooping cough died this year in Texas, while six people died statewide in 2012.
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