February 21, 2018
While the number of whooping cough cases have dropped to a five-year low in Queensland, health authorities have warned parents not to become complacent.
Cases of the highly contagious infection dropped by 1000 last year, the lowest the State has seen in five years.
Queensland Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young said despite the drop, epidemics typically occurred in Australia every three to four years.
“While we can’t predict when the next epidemic will occur, there is always some level of disease circulating in the community,” Dr Young said.
“This is why it’s so important to be vigilant and keep up to date with vaccinations.”
Most hospitalisations and deaths from whooping cough occur in babies younger than six months old.
“For adults and adolescents, whooping cough may only cause a persistent cough, but for babies it can cause serious and sometimes life-threatening health issues,” Dr Young said.
Free vaccines are available for pregnant women and babies.
[Originally published as “Whooping Cough Spike Possible This Year”]
