Whooping Cough Day, raises awareness of whooping cough (pertussis) and the importance of staying up to date with immunisations.
This year’s theme – ‘Stay up to date. Vaccinate’ – highlights the vital role immunisation providers play in protecting individuals, families and communities.
Whooping cough is a highly infectious bacterial disease that affects the airways and can cause severe, uncontrollable coughing. While people of all ages can become infected, infants and young children are at greatest risk of serious complications, including pneumonia, breathing difficulties and, in some cases, death.
This year, more than 1,200 cases have been reported in WA, with the highest rates occurring in the Great Southern and Goldfield regions.
Immunisation (external site) remains the best protection against whooping cough, however, immunity wanes over time. Please review the immunisation status of all your patients, regardless of their reason for visit, and offer the vaccine at every appropriate opportunity, particularly during pregnancy (external site) and to those in close contact with infants.
Pertussis-containing vaccines are recommended and free under the National Immunisation Program (NIP) (external site) for:
- children (external site) aged 2 months, 4 months, 6 months, 18 months and 4 years.
- adolescents (external site) aged 11 to 13 years, typically provided though the School-based Immunisation Program (SBIP) to Year 7 students
- pregnant people (external site) during each pregnancy, preferably between 20 and 32 weeks gestation.
Visit the Immunisation Foundation of Australia for resources to help promote National Whooping Cough Day (external site), including posters, fact sheets and social media tiles.
Whooping cough is a notifiable disease in WA. To report cases of whooping cough, please use the WA infectious and related disease notification form (external site). Vaccination coverage data is published on the Australian immunisation dashboards (external site).
