Whooping cough cases pop up in Rochester

This year's Grinch in southern Minnesota appears to be coming in the form of Whooping cough.

Many schools and day care facilities in Rochester are seeing cases of the virus pop up.

According to the Mayo Clinic, a new round of confirmed cases have been reported in Rochester.

Symptoms of the Whooping cough often mimic the common cold before growing worse.

Health care professionals recommend that everyone receive the Tdap Vaccine, especially young children and pregnant women.

"Whooping cough sounds like it’s just a cough but if you watch videos of typical cases, it’s actually coughing that involves the whole chest and body," Victor Cruz, with Minneapolis Dept. of Health, said.

The CDC recorded nearly 33,000 cases of whooping cough nationwide in 2014, a 15 percent increase from years past.

Doctors say the Whooping Cough bacteria is endemic to Minnesota,  which means it's going to be here every year, making vaccines that much more important.