Two whooping cough outbreaks -- one in British Columbia's Fraser Valley, the other in New Brunswick -- have prompted health officials to urge all Canadian adults to get vaccinated.

The suggestion comes after more than 155 cases appeared in B.C and another 40 were reported in New Brunswick. The highly contagious illness, which starts off as a cough and runny nose, can be deadly in little children and babies.

The push for adult vaccinations is due in part to recent fatal outbreaks in North America. In 2010, whooping cough infected 9,000 people in California and killed 10 babies. That same year in Saskatchewan, five babies died from the illness.

Babies and young children under the age of one are more at risk from the disease because their airways are smaller. One B.C. baby infected last December has spent six weeks in hospital. There have been no fatalities.

The illness starts off like a common cold, but develops into a persistent cough which can last months. It gets its name from the distinctive noise -- which sounds like an animal yelp -- made after a coughing spell. The coughing can cause vomiting and convulsions. One in 100 babies that contract the illness dies.

Health officials are taking aim at the adult population because the vaccine doesn't work well on infants. It takes three vaccines administered over a six-month period to properly protect a baby.

The cyclical outbreaks occur because vaccinations don't offer lifelong protection, and wear off after about a decade.

"So we have a whole pool of people in the Fraser Valley where it's been too long since they were vaccinated. It's been too long since they were infected," Fraser Health Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Peter Van Buynder told CTV News Channel.

"They're just rife for this to come back into the community."

Dr. Van Buynder estimated that the real number of Fraser Valley cases could be as high as 400-500.

The B.C. outbreak started in Hope just before Christmas and moved west to Chilliwack, Agassiz and Maple Ridge. Health officials say there may be outbreaks in other parts of the country that haven't been recognized yet.

South of the border, health officials have also urged adults, including those over 65 who haven't been vaccinated as an adult, to get booster shots.

"They've been moving up to this in baby steps," said Dr. William Schaffner, a Vanderbilt University vaccines expert.

With a report from CTV's medical specialist Avis Favaro and producer Elizabeth St. Philip