Whooping cough cases double with Queensland children, pregnant women overdue for vaccinations

Queensland’s chief health officer has warned of another looming epidemic after dropping vaccination rates in children produced a huge rise in cases for a potentially deadly disease.

Cases in potentially deadly whooping cough cases have doubled in the state as tens of thousands of children are overdue for their vaccinations and 20 per cent of pregnant women are not getting the jabs that protect infants.

The falling vaccination rates are so dire the chief health officer John Gerrard has raised the alarm as he warns a whooping cough epidemic looms.

Queensland’s vaccination rates in children are the worst in the country.

Dr Gerrard said most deaths and hospitalisations from highly contagious whooping cough occur in babies under six months.

As whooping cough or pertussis rates rise, vaccination data have revealed more than 31,000 Queensland children aged under five years are considered overdue for their vital diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccine.

Queensland Health Chief Health Officer Dr John Gerrard. Picture: John Gass

The latest available data shows nearly half of these are infants under the age of two.

Vaccination during pregnancy helps protect a child against whooping cough before they can receive their own vaccination.

“In December 2018, Queensland’s quarterly pertussis vaccination coverage rate was 94.4 per cent for one-year olds and 93.1 per cent for two-year olds,” Dr Gerrard said.

“In December 2023, this decreased to 92.5 per cent for one-year-olds and 91.5 per cent for two-year olds,” he said

Queensland children have lower pertussis vaccination coverage rates than the national average. For one-year olds, the current national quarterly coverage rate is 93.6 per cent and 92.3 per cent for two-year olds.

“Vaccination is an important step towards reducing the risk associated with whooping cough infection and keeping more people safe from the disease” the top doctor said.

Whooping cough is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by Bordetella pertussis bacteria. Picture: Getty

“To ensure full protection at the right time, it is important that all the doses of the vaccine are given at the recommended times, however catch-up vaccinations are available if doses are missed or delayed.

“Anyone who has contact with babies and hasn’t had a booster dose in the past ten years should also get vaccinated as the disease is very contagious and immunity wanes over time” he said.

Dr Gerrard said that pertussis epidemics usually occur every three to four years and the last one was in 2018, so we are due for another spike in cases.

“In January this year, there was 333 pertussis cases recorded, representing more than double what we saw in January 2018 (133 cases) when we had the last epidemic. It is also double the average number of notifications in January for 2017 to 2020 prior to the pandemic.

“Up to 19 February this year, there has been a total of 466 pertussis cases recorded. At the same time last year, only nine pertussis cases had been recorded.”