Missoula City-Council Health Department was notified of a pertussis (whooping cough) outbreak. Subsequently they had to ensure that the people infected get treated. They also had to prevent the disease from spreading. The health department identified 300 close contacts exposed to the disease and 6 actual cases of the whooping cough. It was reported that their vaccine is not as highly effective as others, so even people vaccinated could get infected. Whooping cough is an uncontrollable violent coughing which makes it hard to breathe. The DTap vaccine is very helpful in preventing diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis for young children. A Tdap booster is recommended for adults every 10 years. click here.