An outbreak of pertussis - commonly known as whooping cough - has resulted in 70 confirmed cases in Grand Traverse County, according to local health officials. That figure is up from 49 cases just two weeks ago. 19 schools in the county now have students affected by the disease. A pertussis hotline established by the Grand Traverse County Health Department has fielded 3,750 calls since the outbreak began in early November.

In addition to whooping cough, the county is monitoring 14 confirmed cases of parapertussis - a bacterial illness similar to whooping cough, but milder and not preventable by vaccine - and five confirmed cases of measles http://www.traverseticker.com/story/measles-now-in-two-counties.

County commissioners approved funding Wednesday to add a full-time nurse to the Health Department to help handle the outbreaks, which have strained the department's communicable disease resources and forced the department to pull staff from other community health programs to respond to the demand.