(Santa Fe-AP) -- State health officials say whooping cough is making a comeback in New Mexico.

The illness—which had been muffled for decades by vaccines— has been on the rise.

Two hundred cases were reported by the state Health Department last year—the highest number since 1990.

A two-week-old girl who died in Albuquerque in January became the first whooping cough death in five years.

Officials say teens and young adults are especially vulnerable as their childhood vaccinations wear off. The inoculations are good only for about 12 years.

Federal researchers are working on a longer-lasting immunization, but it won’t be available for several years.

The illness causes intense—and sometimes dangerous— coughing spasms.