Mum of children with whooping cough warns parents to be vigilant after cases rise in local schools

A MOTHER whose three children have all been sick with whooping cough despite being vaccinated is warning mums to be vigilant because initial symptoms are not always obvious.

Whooping Cough. Cromer mum Justene Gordon with her three children (l-r) Heath, 7, Owen, 9, and Torah, 2, who are recovering from Whooping Cough, and are no longer contagious. They contracted the disease despite being immunised. Picture: Troy Snook

A NORTHERN beaches mother whose three children have all been sick with whooping cough despite being vaccinated is warning mums to be vigilant because initial symptoms are not always obvious.

It follows an announcement from Manly Village Public School this week that a pupil has whooping cough.

More than 30 schools in the northern Sydney region have reported at least one case this year.

Justene Gordon, 38, from Cromer, said her middle child Heath, 7, fell sick at the beginning of January.

At the time they assumed he had a cold and a cough.

Doctors are warning people to vaccinate.

It wasn’t until the other two Owen, 9, and Torah, 2, also became sick with “distressing” coughs that they realised all three had whooping cough.

While the symptoms are generally not as bad in children who have been vaccinated, they are still contagious for up to three weeks. A course of antibiotics can shorten the contagious period to five days.

Mrs Gordon said she was thankful a friend with a baby cancelled a visit for other reasons at a time when she now realises her children were highly contagious. The disease can be fatal for babies. “I would not want a newborn to catch it,” she said.

Cromer mum Justene Gordon with her three children Owen, 9, Torah, 2, and Heath, 7.

After weeks of coughing and sleepless nights, Mrs Gordon said they had stopped. But her eldest Owen, who has asthma, is still unable to play soccer for any length of time and she is planning on taking him to a respiratory physio.

Mrs Gordon said she thought it would take him months to fully recover.

Dr Penny Adams said vaccinated children received 80 per cent immunity and were generally less ill than those who were not vaccinated.

“You owe it to your children to vaccinate and you owe it to your community.”