Seeing a rise in the number of pertussis cases in Salt Lake County since November, health officials are urging families to get vaccinated.

Rates are currently below the county's five-year average of pertussis, also known as whooping cough. But the combination of the increase in cases and outbreaks in other states has officials concerned.

"Salt Lake County last experienced outbreak numbers of pertussis in 2006, when we saw upwards of a 400 percent increase in cases," physician Dagmar Vitek, medical officer at the Salt Lake Valley Health Department, said in a statement. "Considering that we usually see increased pertussis numbers every three to five years or so, we are probably due for an outbreak about now."

Weber, Morgan and Utah counties have also seen increases in whooping cough cases, said Valoree Vernon, an epidemiologist with the state Department of Health, stressing that the numbers aren't cause for alarm.

Statewide, there were 12 cases of pertussis in January, well below the average for this time of year, Vernon said.

What's more, vaccination rates have climbed. By 2009, nearly 86 percent of Utahns under the age of 24 had received the required four doses, up from 81 percent in 2005.

Pertussis is a highly contagious respiratory infection marked by severe coughing. Adults and adolescents may not even realize they have pertussis, which may just seem like a bad cough, the department said.

However, while those patients usually recover, the illness can spread to not-yet-vaccinated newborns who are most at risk of severe complications from the disease, the department added. Adults and adolescents, even if they were vaccinated as a child, should receive a booster vaccine known as Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis).

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, pertussis reached epidemic levels in California last year when thousands of individuals contracted the disease, resulting in the deaths of 11 infants. Michigan, Ohio and South Carolina are seeing outbreaks now.

Vitek added, "A year from now, I would really love to be able to say that, while several states struggled with pertussis outbreaks in 2011, Salt Lake County saw only a mild increase in cases." —

Finding a shot

• For protection against pertussis, residents should see their health care provider or visit a Salt Lake Valley Health Department health clinic to receive a Tdap vaccine.

For more information on clinics, pertussis or the Tdap vaccine, go to slvhealth.org.