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Australia is experiencing the largest whooping cough epidemic on record with NSW and Queensland hit especially hard.
The Immunisation Foundation of Australia says 41,013 cases of the highly infectious, and potentially deadly, lung disease were recorded so far this year compared to the previous record set in 2011 with 38,748 cases for the full year.
Dr Laurence Luu is a Chancellor’s Research Fellow and Lecturer at University of Technology Sydney.
“Epidemics of whooping cough follow a fairly predictable pattern, so we did predict a rise in cases this year,” he says.
“However, we had not anticipated the magnitude of this outbreak, the largest since national notifiable disease reporting began.”
About 130 confirmed cases were recorded every day on average in 2024 with more than 45,000 cases expected by the end of the year, the foundation says.
Dr Luu says the epidemic is being compounded by a fall in vaccination rates.
“Given the significant rise in whooping cough cases, current vaccination rates are a major concern,” he says.
“While we do an incredible job protecting newborns and infants, re-vaccination or ‘booster’ rates are alarmingly low.”
The foundation’s newly-released 2024 Whooping Cough Report Card says that NSW and Queensland residents account for almost half and nearly 30 per cent of notifications respectively.
The Card finds a major spike in cases among school children with nearly 40 per cent of notifications of the so-called ‘100-day cough’ recorded in 10-14 year-olds.
Dr Luu explained that whooping cough is more contagious than influenza, measles or COVID-19 “which means it can spread like wildfire”.
He warns that record-levels of infection are unlikely to abate; Spring and Summer are often associated with a spike in cases while November is usually the worst month.
WHAT IS WHOOPING COUGH?
Whooping cough is a highly contagious bacterial infection that attacks the airways, causing uncontrollable coughing and difficulty breathing.
The coughing fits can be so severe that they cause vomiting, incontinence, broken ribs and hospitalisation.
Symptoms may not appear immediately (often for a week or two following infection) but the bacteria is easily spread; once infected, a person can remain contagious for three weeks or until they take antibiotics in full.
Find out more at: www.ifa.org.au/WhoopingCoughDay
