(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services warns that cases of whooping cough are on the rise. Over the past three months health officials in Iowa’s largest county have confirmed 19 cases of pertussis — the scientific name for whooping cough. Addie Olson is a spokesperson for the Polk County Health Department. “I wouldn’t say we’re raising alarms at this point, but we certainly think that folks should be aware that pertussis is present in the community,” she said, “and also there are steps that you can take to prevent it, like ensuring you’re up to date on the pertussis vaccine.”

Whooping cough or pertussis symptoms start out like the common cold, but can develop into fits of coughing — as many as 15 coughs a minute — followed by a whooping sound as the patient inhales. “Pertussis outbreaks tend to occur every three to five years,” Olson says, “and the current trend aligns pretty well with this pattern.”

Whooping cough is most dangerous for infants. In the past six months, two babies in Louisiana and a five-year-old in the state of Washington have died from whooping cough. Federal health officials say twice as many cases of whooping cough have been reported so far this year in the United States.