Each year as the days get shorter and the weather cools, more people are likely to come down with the flu or a cold. However, another illness is making the rounds now in Whitman County, where at least 18 people — all but one at Washington State University — have been diagnosed with pertussis, otherwise known as whooping cough. Because of this, Whitman County Public Health has put out a health alert asking anyone diagnosed with pertussis to isolate while completing a five-day course of antibiotics. Pertussis spreads from person to person through spit droplets, so the health district recommends that anyone who's been in close contact with someone diagnosed with pertussis visit a health care provider. Health officials say that immunization, generally done as a young child via the DTaP vaccine and as an adolescent and adult via the Tdap vaccine, is the best way to prevent infection. It's recommended that adults receive Tdap boosters every 10 years, and if you didn't get a booster as an adolescent, to schedule a single dose now. (COLTON RASANEN)