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