The province averages about 3 to 4 cases of whooping cough a year, but public health officials have seen 8 to 10 cases so far this year leading to a warning to make sure your pertussis vaccines are up to date.

Pertussis, or whooping cough, is a highly contagious bacterial infection that results in a persistent and prolonged cough, accompanied by a distinctive whooping sound.

Babies too young to be vaccinated are at the highest risk.

Pertussis can lead to seizures, brain damage and even death due to a lack of oxygen.

Children are typically vaccinated starting at two, four and six months of age, and boosted at 18 months, before school starts and again in grade 9, while adults should have a booster after their grade 9 booster.

Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says whooping cough is always in circulation, but the recent increase in cases is cause for concern.

“That’s a little bit of a red flag for us that perhaps there’s a little bit more pertussis circulating in the community than we’d like to see,” says Fitzgerald, “so we just wanted to…advise people, and have people make sure they’re up to date on their vaccines.”