Right now, pertussis cases are the highest amount the state has seen in over a decade.

It's commonly called whooping cough and doctors say this is concerning because of an already busy respiratory virus season.

More than half of the whooping cough cases were diagnosed in school-aged kids between the ages of 5 and 17.

As of December 7, according to state data, there were more than 15 hundred cases this year of pertussis.

Health officials say they have become concerned over growing rates of pertussis.

They believe the rise in cases is because of lower vaccination rates.

"We're down currently in terms of our coverage for pertussis-contained vaccines, it's about 3 percent lower than what it was in January of 2020," says Ryan Malosh, Director of the Division of Immunizations for MDHHS.

A parent, Veronica McNally knows the devastating impact this illness can have on small children.

"In 2012, we lost our daughter Francesca Marie to pertussis which is known as whopping cough, she fought a short but heroic battle against the disease," says McNally, she serves as the President of Fanny Strong Foundation and I Vaccinate Campaign.

Veronica says her daughter died at twelve weeks old, nine days after she showed the first symptom of pertussis.

"Her death was awful but we honor her legacy every day by advocating for the prevention of diseases like this through vaccination," says Veronica.

"Pertussis disease is a life-threatening disease, especially for babies it starts off like a cold with mild symptoms but it progresses to severe coughing fits that can last weeks to months," says Dr. Delicia Pruitt, the Medical Director for the Saginaw County Health Department.

According to data from the state, a majority of whooping cough cases involved people who were not vaccinated against the disease or whose last vaccine was more than 5 years ago.

"Unfortunately, one of the realities in dealing with pertussis we do not have treatments which change the course of the disease sin the sense that there is nothing that we can do to shorten the course to make kids better quicker," says Dr. Francis Darr, the Chair, of the Department on pediatrics UP Health System Marquette.

Health officials say the best way to prevent the spread of whooping cough is to get the vaccination.

The centers for disease control and prevention says there is a vaccine for children as young as 2 months and also for adults.