LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) - A highly contagious illness that often infects infants is making a comeback in 2012.

Nearly 18-hundred cases of pertussis, or whooping cough, have been reported this year to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

The CDC says that's the highest rate in five years, and more than double last year's numbers.

THV's Alyse Eady sat down with Craig Gilliam, director of Infection Control at Arkansas Children's Hopsital, to find out what parents need to know about protecting their children. Click on the THVideo!