While whooping cough notifications remain low for Illawarra children in 2018, parents are being urged to be vigilant after a major outbreak of the life-threatening disease in other areas of the state.
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According to NSW Health, there’s been 150 confirmed cases of whooping cough (or pertussis) in children under five across the state so far this year. The local health districts hardest hit include Mid North Coast with 23 cases; Western Sydney with 21; and Hunter New England and South Western Sydney with 19 cases each.
In the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District, there’s been five cases since January 1. However Public Health director Curtis Gregory said the peak season was yet to come.
“We do know whooping cough can be quite seasonal so we’d expect to see numbers increasing coming into the winter season,” he said.
“It also happens in cycles, so we’ll see a year or two where it peaks, then it dips for a couple of years. It might be that there’s a different strain, so people aren’t as well protected.”
A serious respiratory infection that causes a long coughing illness, whooping cough can lead to pneumonia and occasionally, brain damage and even death.
The illness is more severe in young children, and Mr Gregory urged parents to immunise their babies on time. “If parents aren’t sure they can see their GP who can work out a catch-up schedule.
“We’d also urge pregnant women to get a booster in their third trimester to provide their baby protection before their first vaccination.
“Carers and grandparents and others in contact with newborns should get vaccinated as well for better herd immunity.”
According to the Australian Immunisation Register, the Illawarra Shoalhaven district had the second highest rate of immunisation in the state as at December 2017.
The figures show that 96.9 per cent of children in the region were fully immunised at five years, above the national average of 94.5 per cent.
Wollongong MP Paul Scully said while he was reassured by the high rates of vaccination in the region, he was extremely disappointed by the “ongoing failure” of the NSW Government to tackle the anti-vaxxer movement.
“I am so proud of the families of the Illawarra. This is about protecting the next generation of children,” he said.
“Anyone who has seen a baby struggling to breathe with whooping cough would immediately rush out to ensure their own child is vaccination. It is heart-wrenching.
“Vaccination is a 20th century public health achievement. It saves lives. Sadly, large scale vaccinations have allowed a small fringe to become complacent about the welfare of our nation’s children – especially in regard to measles, whooping cough, mumps and other deadly diseases.”
