Whooping cough — highly contagious and potentially dangerous — has surged in California to levels not seen since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

California's cases of whooping cough are more than six times as high as last year, and in Los Angeles County, reports of the infectious disease rose by nearly 119%. It reflects a trend seen across the U.

The number of cases of pertussis, more commonly known as whooping cough, in California is over six times more than last year, according to a Sept. 2024 report released by the California Department of Public Health. Whooping cough is a highly contagious ...