Central District Health says there were 171 cases of Whooping Cough in the region as of September that's way more than the ten cases reported all of last year. Whooping Cough, also known as Pertussis, is highly contagious. It is characterized by a whooping sound, especially in infants. Pertussis vaccines are available, and need to be redone every 5-10 years.(Below is the transcript of the broadcast story.)This has been a bad year for whooping cough and fall weather has barely arrived.Im senior reporter Roland Beres for Wellness Wednesday, where were healthier together, and as of September, there were 171 cases of whooping cough in the Treasure Valley compared to just 10 last year. And its totally preventable.Whooping cough, known as pertussis, is characterized by a consistent cough with a whooping sound thats most common in infants. Pertussis. Its still around, were seeing it. It can be very uncomfortable and its highly contagious and it can be severe and require hospitalization, particularly for younger patients, infants in particular, said Dr. Daniel Meltzer.Dr. Meltzer says all that coughing spreads whooping cough with ease.He says masks can help, but putting one on a baby? Well, thats just about impossible.Fortunately, theres an easy solution.Its completely preventable with vaccination, said Dr. Meltzer. But if you still get pertussis, it is also treatable.The good news is there are antibiotics we can use to treat the symptoms, but that does not prevent it so, again, we want to get one step ahead and encourage people to get immunized," said Dr. Meltzer.The CDC says the immunization protects 98 percent of children within the year following their last dose.And if you want to keep that protection, the CDC says it's required every five to ten years as a booster.