An outbreak of the potentially deadly whooping cough disease may be imminent, West Australian health authorities have warned, as they urge pregnant women to get vaccinated.

According to the WA Centre for Disease Control (CDC), the rate of weekly whooping cough notifications steadily increased over 2015, which the department fears points to another outbreak being due.

The bacterial infection, which is passed on by sneezing and coughing, is always present in Western Australia but outbreaks occur in roughly three to five-year cycles.

There were 1,784 cases in the state last year, up from 1,753 the previous year.

The last big spike in cases was in 2011, with 4,005 recorded, up from 1,446 the previous year.

The CDC has issued a warning that newborns will be particularly at risk, with more than 80 per cent of deaths from the disease occurring in children less than three months of age.

Whooping cough symptoms: Usually begins like a cold with a blocked or runny nose, tiredness, mild fever and a cough.

Usually begins like a cold with a blocked or runny nose, tiredness, mild fever and a cough. Cough gets worse and severe bouts of uncontrollable coughing can develop.

Cough gets worse and severe bouts of uncontrollable coughing can develop. Coughing bouts can be followed by vomiting, choking or taking a big gasping breath which causes a "whooping" sound.

Coughing bouts can be followed by vomiting, choking or taking a big gasping breath which causes a "whooping" sound. The cough can last for many weeks and can be worse at night.

The cough can last for many weeks and can be worse at night. Some newborns may not cough at all but they can stop breathing and turn blue.

Some newborns may not cough at all but they can stop breathing and turn blue. Some babies have difficulties feeding and can choke or gag.

Some babies have difficulties feeding and can choke or gag. Older children and adults may just have a cough that lasts for many weeks. They may not have the whoop. Source: WA Department of Health

Pregnant women are being urged to get vaccinated in their third trimester, so antibodies can be transferred to the baby in utero to protect it in the first few months after birth.

Babies cannot be vaccinated in the first few months.

Dr Paul Effler from the Department of Health's Communicable Disease Control Directorate said 80 per cent of pertussis deaths occurred in infants under three months.

"What we want to do is get to the pregnant women, so they get vaccinated and they pass that protection to the baby in their body and when the child is born then they're protected when they are most vulnerable," he said.

"We're not saying the sky is falling.

"We're seeing increased whooping cough activity and we want to make sure parents are aware of it, so they can make sure their kids are protected and so that pregnant women get vaccinated to protect that baby when they're most vulnerable."

Following the death of one-month-old baby Riley Hughes, who died in March last year after contracting the disease, the Western Australian Government began offering free vaccinations to pregnant women.

Riley was the first death since 2011, but in the three years before that, one infant died from the infection every year.

Riley's mother Catherine urged parents to get vaccinated.

Baby Riley Hughes ultimately succumbed to whooping cough in hospital aged just 32 days. ( Supplied: Catherine Hughes )

"Losing Riley was the worst thing we've ever experienced, and it doesn't need to happen," Ms Hughes said.

"Watching your baby gasp for breath and being told your baby isn't going to make it, ... it doesn't need to happen.

"There is prevention available. [It was] not something that I was offered but now every woman in Australia has access to pregnancy vaccination, which means the babies are born fairly protected [from] the disease."

Ms Hughes said people may not realise whooping cough vaccinations wore off after about 10 years, and urged people to get boosters.

She hoped the Federal Government's "no jab, no pay" policy, which cuts welfare payments to people who refused to vaccinate their children, would improve rates in Australia, but more could be done.

"Something also needs to be done to target belief systems, and that's where I think greater education is needed in schools," she said.

According to the WA Department of Health, UK studies showed vaccinating women in the third trimester of pregnancy can prevent more than 90 per cent of infections among infants in the first few months of life.