GOP lawmaker diagnosed with whooping cough

After a nagging illness, Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.) said doctors at the Capitol have finally diagnosed him with pertussis, more commonly known as the whooping cough.

The case will be reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, which tracks the rare, contagious respiratory-tract disease, the freshman lawmaker confirmed.

{mosads}“Although the last few weeks have been very trying for me and for my family, thankfully I am now recovering,” Curbelo said in a statement.

The Miami-area congressman, who was tapped in January to give the GOP’s Spanish-language response to President Obama’s State of the Union address, maintained a vigorous work schedule during the past month.

But he appeared under the weather during a couple of public appearances in July and sounded “stuffy” in a recent C-SPAN interview, the Miami Herald reported. 

Common symptoms of pertussis include nasal congestion, fever and severe coughing attacks, sometimes to the point of vomiting.

The CDC recommends that infants receive the DTaP vaccination to prevent against whooping cough, diphtheria and tetanus. Since vaccine protection fades with time, teenagers and adults require Tdap boosters.

“I want to use this opportunity to remind parents to vaccinate their children against this dangerous infection,” Curbelo said. “Adults should be aware that booster shots are necessary in order to maintain the vaccine’s effectiveness. I want to thank my family and my team for helping me get through this.”