Parents at one southern Wollongong school have been notified of two confirmed cases of whooping cough among the student population.
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The school has referred concerned parents to an information sheet from NSW Health which advises that the disease could be life-threatening for babies.
Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District public health director Curtis Gregory said whooping cough was a notifiable disease in Australia.
He said in the event of a notification, the public health unit works with the relevant school, child care centre or other organisation in order to help prevent the further spread of the disease.
"The [unit] is currently seeing sporadic cases of whooping cough [also known as pertussis] throughout the district and is continuing to monitor these," Mr Gregory said.
"It is not unusual for alerts to be issued to parents and/or the wider community.
"This is standard practice even when a single notification for a facility is received.
"It serves as a timely reminder of the importance of vaccination against whooping cough and to be aware of symptoms."
NSW Health figures show whooping cough notifications have dramatically increased this year.
There's been 2371 notifications throughout the state this year; compared to 739 in the same period last year.
Mr Gregory said vaccination was the "single best thing" to prevent the infection.
"NSW Health is making free whooping cough vaccine available for all pregnant women as vaccination at 28 weeks is the most effective means of preventing infection in infants," he said.
"Because immunity wanes over time, many children and adults who have not been vaccinated for several years can be susceptible and may be the source of new infections in newborns who are not old enough to be vaccinated.
"So it's important that all people in contact with newborn babies are up to date with their whooping cough vaccines."
Mr Gregory said anyone who had been exposed to someone with whooping cough should watch out for symptoms and see their doctor if they developed a new cough.
lwachsmuth@fairfaxmedia.com.au