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Several provinces are seeing outbreaks of whooping cough and public health officials are urging people to make sure their vaccinations are up to date.

The bacterial infection is particularly dangerous for very young babies – it can lead to hospitalization and in rare cases, death.

Manitoba and B.C. are both reporting a higher number of cases than normal while New Brunswick is also dealing with an outbreak.

Ontario health officials say there have been some isolated outbreaks, but so far this year whooping cough hasn't posed a major problem.

Public health officials in all the provinces say people should make sure their vaccinations are up to date.

Whooping cough is the second most common infectious childhood disease in Canada, after influenza.

While the disease is always present in the community to some extent, outbreaks tend to be cyclical, with a spike in cases every two to five years.

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