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Kim Johnson ReportingDr. Dagmar Vitek: "It lasts forever. It lasts for months and it's very contagious. They spread it very easily, person to person very quickly."
Utah has a pertussis problem. Health officials are concerned because it's not getting better, it's getting worse. The incidence of Pertussis, or whooping cough, in Utah is three and half times the national average.
Zoe Wolcott, Had pertussis: "I've had it for two months now and it doesn't really go away."
Zoe Wolcott was one of the first victims of the new year. Doctors confirm what she says.
Dr. Dagmar Vitek, Salt Lake Valley Health: "It lasts forever. It lasts for months and it's very contagious. They spread it very easily, person to person very quickly."
Doctor Vitek says, so far this year, 81 cases of whooping cough have been reported in Salt Lake County. For the first quarter of last year there were 33 reported cases, and the same period the year before that, 13. In other words Pertussis is up 400-percent in the last four years.
Dr. Vitek says the victims are mostly Jr. High and High schoolers who typically cough a lot, but don't get that sick.
Dr. Vitek: "They spread it amongst themselves, but then they take it home and they infect their parents and their younger siblings. And it becomes a huge problem for infants and younger children."
Babies don't get their first pertussis vaccine until they're at least four-months old, and even then, Dr. Vitek says they're not fully protected.
Dr. Vitek: "Children under age one are probably in the biggest danger, and they're at serious risk of complications like pneumonia, seizures, and they can even die."
But there's something parents can do. In the last several months, the FDA has approved two new vaccines for pertussis. One is Boostrix for children between the ages of 10 and 18, and Adacell for people between 11 and 64.
Health officials are urging everyone to take the time to get the vaccine and stop the spread..
