For the second year in a row, the US has surpassed 25,000 whooping cough cases — another sign of the risks of falling vaccination levels.

Whooping cough often surges in the fall, and with a rising number of bacterial respiratory disease cases, doctors are reminding families of what can be done to protect those with the youngest lungs.

It's been a busy respiratory illness season for doctors in Central California. But that's not the only sickness that doctors ...