Geelong whooping cough cases exceed 200, parents, schools on alert

A Geelong school mum has a stern warning for parents: Children must “go and get swabbed” as whooping cough cases double.

Alex Hamilton and her daughter Shiloh Waddell who had whooping cough as cases have more than double in Geelong. Picture: Brad Fleet

Whooping cough has continued to surge across Geelong with more than 100 new cases recorded in little more than a month and local schools on high alert.

Infections have more than doubled since August’s already-concerningly high numbers and the education department has issued notices to schools across the region.

In the year to date, Greater Geelong has recorded 212 cases of pertussis – commonly known as whooping cough – compared with just 20 throughout the whole of 2023 and 18 the year prior, according to health department data.

Of those, 112 have been reported since mid-August.

Golden Plains has reported 35 cases this year, and the surf coast has seen six.

According to the health department, school-aged children are overly represented among these case numbers.

Alex Hamilton, whose 11-year old daughter Shilo had whooping cough for several weeks said the increase in cases was a huge concern.

“The important thing is to not just assume it’s a normal cough but to go and get swabbed,” she said.

“Knowing how damaging it can be for young children and babies, being informed is key.

“People are dismissing small coughs, and still have that mentality ‘it’s not Covid, it’s okay.”

Ms Hamilton, who’s daughter goes to Kardinia International College, said the school had seen several cases.

Leopold Primary School sent an email to parents warning them to stay alert as it had recorded cases among students and students’ families.

St John’s Lutheran school has also been affected.

An education department spokeswoman said it had asked all schools to raise awareness of the increased risk of whooping cough.

She said it was supporting schools experiencing an outbreak to share advice and information with their communities.

“Schools advise families with unwell children to keep them at home and seek medical advice if concerned,” the spokeswoman said.

Pertussis is a highly contagious respiratory illness which is particularly dangerous for young babies and those with vulnerable immune systems.

Barwon South West Public Health Unit public health physician Akhtar Hussain told the Geelong Advertiser in August the increased cases indicated an increasing risk of transmission to the most vulnerable population – infants under the age of six months.

Dr Akhtar Hussain. Picture: Supplied

A federal health department spokesman said whooping cough outbreaks could be due to several factors including expected epidemic peaks, vaccination coverage, waning immunity, and the overall population having greatly reduced exposure to pertussis during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The spokesman said schoolchildren, aged 10–14 years, account for 39 per cent of all pertussis notifications in Australia, with cyclical increases of pertussis occurring every two to five years despite high levels of vaccination coverage.

The spokesman said vaccination was a key prevention tool and free pertussis-containing vaccines are provided under the National Immunisation Program.

Originally published as Geelong whooping cough cases exceed 200, parents, schools on alert