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KENNEBUNK, Maine (AP) – Maine health care experts say that under-vaccinated communities are the main suspect behind a pertussis outbreak in York County.
The Portland Press Herald reports that there have been 97 cases of whooping cough in York County this year, including 25 cases in September alone. The highly contagious respiratory disease causes a severe cough that can last up to 10 weeks.
Maine has experienced in recent years one of the worst rates of pertussis in the country. The state-wide figures have declined slightly this year, but Laura Blaisdell said the York County figures were alarming. Blaisdell, Yarmouth's pediatrician and advocate for immunization, said that too many parents choose not to use the childhood vaccines needed to start school, and that pockets of vaccine resistance in the state are worrying.
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Information from: Portland Press Herald, http://www.pressherald.com
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