Alberta Health Services says 34 cases of whooping cough have been reported in southern Alberta since the beginning of the year and stress that there could be many more.

One family in the community is urging parents to get their children immunized against pertussis after their four-month-old son became very sick and needed to be put in quarantine.

They’re also looking for answers from AHS, saying the organization should have come up with a diagnosis sooner.

Erin Fulkerth says her son Jax’s coughing fits last about 45 minutes and she can only hold him, face down, patting him on the back until they stop.

“Each one is really scary because it sounds like he’s choking. It’s day and night, so we take turns holding him through the night and switch off every attack.”

Jax ended up contracting whooping cough from his parents after dad Brock caught a very bad cough shortly after Jax was born.

Brock went to the hospital on two different occasions and was told that his cough was just the result of a virus.

Erin came down with the same symptoms a few weeks later, followed soon by Jax.

They say they wished doctors had taken a sample when Brock was at the hospital to check for pertussis.

“Had Brock been diagnosed properly, he would have been on antibiotics and not contagious.”

Erin and Brock both had their pertussis vaccinations nine years ago and were told then they were good for up to ten years.

Jax received his at his two month immunization appointment.

He is now quarantined at home until he is finished his antibiotics, but the symptoms can last from anywhere from six to eight weeks.

Officials with the AHS say the vaccine isn’t 100 percent effective, but it is the best way to protect yourself and your children.

Because of the recent outbreak, officials are recommending pregnant women in their third trimester and infants who are two months old get immunized.

Erin and Brock hope that their story can encourage other parents to get their children vaccinated.

“Anyone who is pregnant or in that five to ten year range needs to be getting it,” Erin says. “Even if there’s no outbreak. When you have an infant in the family, it’s serious.

Residents can contact the Lethbridge Health Unit to make an appointment to get a pertussis vaccination.

Pregnant women are urged to contact their physician directly for a vaccination.

In Calgary, two cases have been reported and health officials say they take the illness seriously.

"Pertussis is really quite serious, especially in infants under the age of six months. This bacteria can intervene with their ability to breath and it can really lead to death," said Dr. Judy MacDonald from the AHS.

The AHS says there is usually an outbreak of whooping cough every three to five years.

The last outbreak in the South Zone was in 2012 and claimed the life of one infant.

(With files from Kaella Carr)