Whooping cough outbreak slowing in Minn. - KTTC Rochester, Austin, Mason City News, Weather and Sports

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - Minnesota health officials say an outbreak of whooping cough appears to be slowing in the state.

Minnesota Public Radio News (http://bit.ly/SKYdbl ) reports in the past two weeks another 190 cases were confirmed. That's nearly the same number of cases that were reported for just one week in mid-September.

Claudia Miller of the Minnesota Department of Health says the drop in cases is a good sign. But she says there is still a lot of the disease circulating in the community.

Whooping cough, also known as pertussis, causes a persistent, severe cough that sometimes lasts for months.

In total, Minnesota has confirmed more than 3,700 cases of the bacterial infection. That's the highest number since the 1940s, before a vaccine was developed.

Three-quarters of the cases have occurred in vaccinated people.