JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) -Cases of pertussis, known as whooping cough, are on the rise nationwide. And Mississippi has already seen more cases than all of last year.

“This year, I think it’s going to be one of our worst years,” said Mississippi State Health Officer Dr. Dan Edney.

Edney says whooping cough is most worrisome for five-year-olds and younger, especially infants.

“It causes infection of the bronchial tubes and causes swelling and inflammation,” he explained. “And it has that classic, you know, cough that whoop[s]. It’s even scarier than croup, so it’s a very dangerous infection.”

Here are the statistics: the Department of Health reports there were 43 confirmed cases in 2024. There have been 38 confirmed already this year with another 17 probable cases, totaling 55.

Dr. Tamina McMillan at TrustCare Kids, says she hasn’t seen it this year but notes that it can start with normal cold-like symptoms and quickly escalate.

“If you have a kid who’s coughing with secondary symptoms like color changes, vomiting after coughing, a really prolonged cough, then they should be evaluated,” explained McMillan.

Vaccination is considered the best form of prevention. But that protection does fade.

“A good way to protect against that is if you are in charge of being around younger people, like infants less than 12 months, then everyone who’s around that infant should be vaccinated. [It] is called the cocoon effect,” explained McMillan. “So, if you surround yourself with vaccinated adults, then the child will have improved immunity.”

‘What I do myself is, you know, when it’s time for my tetanus booster, I just do pertussis booster with it,” added Dr. Edney. “That mainly is to protect other infants and children that might be around me, that I’m not spreading pertussis to them, where it [would] be more dangerous.”

But Dr. Edney notes that it doesn’t stop the infection in its tracks, but it makes any cases mild and easier to treat.

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STARKVILLE — One week remains in the college baseball regular season, and Mississippi State does not know yet which seed it will land in the SEC tournament. 

The Bulldogs (31-20, 12-15 SEC) have won five of their past six SEC games. Even after firing coach Chris Lemonis on April 28, they can finish at .500 in the conference. It would be their first consecutive seasons with at least a .500 conference record since 2018 and 2019. 

That would require sweeping Missouri (16-35, 3-24) on the road beginning on May 15 (6 p.m., SEC Network+).

Here’s where Mississippi State is in the SEC standings for the final week of the season.

Where Mississippi State baseball is in SEC standings

The Bulldogs are in 13th place with a 12-15 conference record. They are ahead of Missouri (3-24), South Carolina (5-22) and Texas A&M (10-17). If the regular season ended today, they would play No. 12 seed Kentucky on May 20 (12:30 p.m., SEC Network). 

Can Mississippi State still get a bye in the SEC tournament? 

Only three games separate seventh place from Mississippi State at 13th place. Mississippi State can finish as high as tied for eighth, the lowest seed with a first-round bye, but it’s unlikely to win tiebreakers.

Mississippi State cannot reach the seventh or eighth seed if Tennessee gets at least one win at Arkansas. 

An MSU sweep of Missouri combined with Arkansas sweeping Tennessee could form a tie between the Bulldogs and Volunteers. Tennessee would win the tiebreaker because of its better record against common opponents. 

MSU could be in three-way ties for the No. 8 seed with Tennessee (15-12) and combinations of Alabama (15-12), Ole Miss (14-13), Florida (13-14), Oklahoma (13-14) or Kentucky (13-14). However, it wouldn’t win any of those tiebreaker scenarios.

Four- and five-way ties are also possible. Even a six-way tie could happen. It gets increasingly complicated with more teams tied.

The first tiebreaker for three or more teams is record against the tied teams, followed by record against common opponents. The third tiebreaker is record against the highest seed of common opponents, proceeding through the entire standings. MSU is not situated well if a tiebreaker reaches that level because it was swept by No. 1 seed Texas and No. 3 seed LSU. 

MORE: Ole Miss hiring former Mississippi State assistant Jake Jacoby as men’s tennis coach

What’s the lowest seed Mississippi State can be in the SEC tournament?

Texas A&M could jump Mississippi State in the standings, but it would have to win its series at Georgia, and MSU would need to get swept by Missouri. MSU holds the tiebreaker over Texas A&M because of its record against common opponents. 

That means No. 14 is the lowest seed MSU can be in the SEC tournament.

Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.

NATCHEZ – An officer-involved shooting took place on National Park Service land late Sunday, though officials are unsure at this time whether that fact will affect the outcome of the investigation and resulting charges.

The Mississippi Bureau of Investigations is investigating the shooting, which left the suspect “critically injured,” according to a statement from MBI. In a follow-up statement, MBI said it will work in conjunction with the U.S. Attorney General’s Office to pursue charges in this case. Investigation is preliminary and ongoing.

Natchez National Historical Park Director Kathleen Bond, who had just learned about the incident on Monday morning, said she was not aware of any damage to the federal visitor center property because of the incident.

Natchez Police Chief Cal Green said it’s not often in Natchez that shootings occur at visitor reception areas, though the Natchez Visitor Center has been closed for some time for renovations.

“It’s upsetting to say the least,” Green said of the exchange of gunfire between police officers and Phillip Stokes Jr., 20, at approximately 10:20 p.m. on Sunday.

“This is not something that happens very often, and I thank God for it,” she said.

Officers were attempting to arrest Stokes, who is wanted for attempted murder charges stemming from a Friday shooting on Lafayette Street that injured a woman. Also arrested for the shooting on Friday was Willeshia Williams, who was charged with accessory after the fact of attempted murder.

However, as police were attempting to make the arrest, Stokes “shot at officers and officers returned fire,” Green said.

MBI officials said in a statement, “Officers were attempting to serve a warrant on the subject. Upon arrival to the location, the subject displayed a firearm, resulting in an exchange of gunfire between the subject and law enforcement officers. The subject sustained critical injuries and was transported to a nearby hospital. No officers were injured during the encounter.

“MBI is currently assessing this critical incident and gathering evidence. Upon completing the investigation, agents will share their findings with the Attorney General’s Office. This information is preliminary and subject to change.”