(WKBW) It's a serious illness that's highly contagious and on the rise, and that's why state health officials are urging parents to make sure their kids are vaccinated again pertussis, also known as whooping cough.
The state says so far this year the number of confirmed cases of this respiratory infection is well above last year's number.
And it says, 70-percent of infants who get whooping cough have to be hospitalized.