Whooping Cough Archives - Illawarra Medical Centre

Australia’s high school vaccination program

walrus — Tue, 28 Apr 2026 04:46:02 +0000

As we come to the end of World Immunization Week and the start of the Australia’s flu vaccine rollout, it’s a timely reminder of another very important vaccination program for our high school aged adolescents.

This age group is particularly vulnerable to certain diseases, including pertussis (whooping cough), human papillomavirus (HPV), and meningococcal. They are also at high risk of spreading these to the broader community when infected.

Recent research indicates a drop in adolescent vaccine uptake in recent years, which is a concern. In this month’s blog, we take a closer look at the high school vaccination program and why protecting our teens against these diseases is so important.

Australia’s adolescent vaccine program

Australia’s National Immunisation Program provides a series of free vaccinations for Australian teenagers. These are delivered through school-based immunisation programs and other health services to students in Year 7 and Year 10.

These include:

a booster vaccine for diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (dTpa), usually offered in year 7;
the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, usually offered in year 7; and
a meningococcal ACWY vaccine, offered in year 10.

Parents need to provide consent for their children to receive vaccinations through the school-based immunisation program. In Western Australia, this can be completed online through WA Health or directly through your school.

Diseases covered by the program

Diphtheria

Diphtheria is a serious disease caused by a toxin made by bacteria. It causes a thick grey coating in the back of the nose or throat that makes it hard to breathe or swallow and can be deadly. The dTpa vaccine given to Year 7 students protects against diphtheria.

Tetanus

Tetanus is an acute, often fatal disease, also caused by a toxin produced by bacteria.

It can lead breathing problems and paralysis, and muscle spasms from the disease can be strong enough to break a child’s spine or other bones.

About 20 per cent of people who get tetanus in Australia will die as a result.

The dTpa vaccine given to Year 7 students protects against tetanus.

Pertussis

Pertussis, or whooping cough, is a potentially fatal bacterial infection that attacks the airways causing uncontrollable coughing and difficulty breathing. Whooping cough spreads easily through households and families.

While babies are at greatest risk of severe illness from the disease, it can cause serious illness in older children and adults, particularly for people with asthma.

The dTPa vaccine given to Year 7 students protects against pertussis.

This vaccine is given routinely to infants at 2 months, 4 months, 6 months, 18 months and 4 years of age, with a booster given to adolescents aged between 11-13. A booster dose is also highly recommended for pregnant women and those aged 50 and 65 years of age.

HPV

HPV is a viral infection that can cause cancers and genital warts and is sexually transmitted.

The benefits of HPV vaccines are greatest when given before exposure to the virus. This is why the vaccine is given to all young people in early high school, before they become sexually active.

We know that HPV vaccination at this age works. Australia has one of the lowest rates of the disease in the world, thanks to proactive health strategies aimed at eliminating the disease.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare notes that cervical cancer incidence rates have noticeably decreased since the introduction of the HPV adolescent vaccine program. Incidence rates have fallen from 9.3 cases per 100,000 females in 2013 to an estimated 0.5 in 2025. In addition, age-standardised mortality rates for cervical cancer decreased from 3.2 deaths per 100,000 females in 2000 to an estimated 1.8 deaths in 2025.

Healthy young people who receive a single dose before 26 years of age will not need further doses. Anyone who missed the HPV vaccination at 12 to 13 years of age can still catch up for free up to age 26.

Meningococcal

Meningococcal disease is the result of a bacterial infection of the blood and/or membranes that line the spinal cord and brain.

While the disease is relatively uncommon, it can spread rapidly and become life-threatening for those infected.

Those aged 15-24 years are at a high risk, due to their social lifestyle, which generally includes more intimate activities such as kissing and sharing drinks.

The most common strains of meningococcal that are responsible for cases of infection are A, B, C, W, and Y. While the school-based program only protects against the ACWY strains of the disease, private scripts are available for meningococcal B vaccines and are highly recommended.

Some of the highest rates of meningococcal carriage and illness occur among 15- to 19-year olds and the B strain has become increasingly prevalent in recent years.

Vaccination decline

Over the last few years, adolescent vaccination coverage rates have declined. As noted by Australia’s National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (NCIRS), the proportion of teens who had received their adolescent dose of dTpa in the year they turned 15 decreased from 87.3% in 2021 to 86.9% in 2022 to 85.5% in 2023.

Meanwhile, the proportion who had received one dose of meningococcal ACWY vaccine by age 17 fell from 76.1% in 2021 to 75.9% in 2022 to 72.8% in 2023. Vaccination coverage among Indigenous teenagers dropped by similar amounts.

While this aligns with an overall trend in vaccination rates across all age groups, since the COVID pandemic, it does expose more teenagers and members of the wider community to serious infection from these vaccine-preventable diseases.

Are these vaccines safe?

Yes. Vaccines given in Australia are perfectly safe and you cannot get the virus from having the relevant vaccine.

Like any vaccine, it is possible that some people may experience a reaction; however, the risk of the vaccines causing serious harm is very low.

In Australia, all vaccines must pass strict safety testing before being approved for use by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). We also have a national program – AusVaxSafety – that monitors the type and rate of reactions to all vaccines on the National Immunisation Program.

So if you have a child in Year 7 or 10, make sure you register your consent for vaccination prior to the program being delivered at their school. You can contact your school directly for specific dates and details or speak with your GP for more information.

WA Health also provides a useful guide for parents on the school-based immunisation program:

Y7 – Guide for parents – Adolescent immunisation
Y10 – Guide for parents – Adolescent immunisation

For more information, visit:

Australian Government Department of Health, Disability, and Aging – Immunisation for adolescents | Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing
AusVaxSafety – National Immunisation Program schedule vaccines | AusVaxSafety
Child and Adolescent Health Service (CAHS) – Child and Adolescent Health Service | CAHS – School based immunisation program
Department of Health, WA – School-based immunisation program
Department of Health, WA – Immunisation – Immunisation programs and schedules | Immunisation information
National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (NCIRS) – Immunisation schedules | NCIRS

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Whooping cough cases reach epidemic proportions across Australia

walrus — Thu, 28 Nov 2024 04:41:10 +0000

Whooping cough has seen a significant rise in reported cases across Australia this year, with a 940% increase in recorded WA cases and a more than 1,600% increase in recorded cases nationally.

In this month’s blog, we take a look at why it has reached epidemic proportions, as well as the signs, symptoms and best ways of preventing this highly infectious disease.

What is Whooping Cough?

Whooping Cough (or pertussis) is a highly infectious and potentially fatal bacterial infection that attacks the airways and causes uncontrollable coughing, as well as difficulty breathing.

It is caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis and is more contagious than influenza, measles or COVID-19. Whooping cough can be fatal in infants and cause serious illness in older children and adults, particularly those who are unvaccinated against the disease.

Whooping cough spreads easily from person to person via airborne droplets. When an infectious person coughs or sneezes, the bacteria is spread into the air and can then be inhaled by other people in close proximity.

Symptoms of Whooping Cough

Symptoms will normally appear 7 to 10 days after infection and include a mild fever, runny nose and cough. The cough will gradually develop into a hacking cough followed by whooping sound (hence the name, whooping cough).

The cough itself can be so severe that it causes vomiting, broken ribs and hospitalisation. It can also commonly lead to pneumonia.

Once the cough begins, people are usually contagious for 3 weeks. The cough, itself, can often last for 4 to 8 weeks or more; hence why it is often referred to as the 100-day cough.

Antibiotics are used to treat the infection. The main antibiotic usually prescribed for whooping cough is Azithromycin; however, as noted by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) this is currently in short supply in Australia, so your doctor may prescribe an alternative for treatment.

Why has there been such a large rise in cases this year?

As recorded in the National Notifiable Disease Surveillance System, whooping cough cases have risen significantly in 2024, with 733 cases reported in WA compared to 78 cases in 2023. Nationally, the statistics are even more alarming, with 40,428 cases reported this year compared to 2,453 cases in 2023.

Epidemics of whooping cough are known to occur every three to four years, as part of the normal cyclical pattern of waning immunity that comes from a lack of exposure to the circulating infection over time. However, this year’s epidemic has already far surpassed the 20,118 cases of whooping cough reported in the last epidemic of 2016.

This can, in part, be explained by reduced exposure to the disease during the COVID-19 pandemic, when lockdowns, social distancing and effective disease control measures were put in place across Australia.

Declining rates of immunisation, as highlighted in the latest report from Australia’s National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (NCIRS), may also help to explain the significant rise in pertussis cases for 2024.

How to protect against whooping cough

Vaccination is the best protection for you and your family against the disease.

As noted by the NCIRS, the pertussis vaccine is only available in combination with diphtheria and tetanus. The dTPa vaccine forms part of the National Immunisation Program and is given routinely to infants at 2 months, 4 months, 6 months, 18 months and 4 years of age, with a booster given to adolescents aged between 11-13.

A booster dose is also highly recommended for pregnant women and those aged 50 and 65 years of age.

Healthcare workers, early childhood educators and carers, and those in close contact with infants are also encouraged to get a booster every 10 years.

For more information on the whooping cough vaccine, visit the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care.

In addition to getting vaccinated, you can help to minimise the spread of the disease by practising good hygiene habits, including:

Avoiding contact with at-risk people, if you have any type of respiratory disease
Coughing and sneezing into your elbow, rather than your hand
Placing used tissues into a closed bin straight after use
Regularly washing your hands, especially after coughing or sneezing into them and before preparing food.

Vaccinations at IMC

Illawarra Medical Centre provides a comprehensive immunisation service for all childhood and travel immunisations, and regularly stocks all the childhood immunisations that form part of the National Immunisation Program Schedule, including vaccinations for pertussis.

To make a vaccination appointment with one of our GPs, simply book online or contact us on (08) 9208 6400.

For more information on this topic, visit:

Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care – https://immunisationhandbook.health.gov.au/contents/vaccine-preventable-diseases/pertussis-whooping-cough
Healthy WA – https://www.healthywa.wa.gov.au/Articles/U_Z/Whooping-cough-pertussis
National Notifiable Disease Surveillance System – https://nindss.health.gov.au/pbi-dashboard/
World Health Organization – https://www.who.int/health-topics/pertussis#tab=tab_1

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