Whooping Cough Information
There have been confirmed cases of whooping cough in South Canterbury.
Whooping cough epidemics tend to occur every three to four years. The last whooping cough epidemic in New Zealand was in 2004-2005. In 2004 there were 3489 cases of whooping cough notified, of which 159 were hospitalised. There was one death.
Whooping cough is a highly infectious bacterial infection.
Whooping cough symptoms start with a runny nose and dry cough. The coughing gets worse over the next few weeks, developing into attacks of coughing. The “whoop” sound occurs as children draw a breath after a long coughing attack. Sometimes there is no whooping sound. Babies might go blue or stop breathing during coughing attacks. They may also vomit.
Whooping cough is very serious in young babies, especially newborns. They struggle to breathe and many need to be hospitalised.
Immunise your baby or child on time – it’s one of the best ways to protect them from whooping cough.
About 84 per cent of babies are protected from whooping cough after three doses of vaccine. But it is really important that they get it at the recommended times – six weeks, three and five months.
The vaccine protection starts to wane after about six years – that’s why we give booster doses to children at four and 11 years of age. This is why people who have been vaccinated sometimes get whooping cough. If you have a cough that won’t go away, you might have whooping cough. See your doctor.
Older children and adults can also pass whopping cough on to babies. Talk to your family doctor or nurse to make sure your children are up-to-date with their immunisations. Especially if there is a baby in your family or whanau. It is never too late to catch up on missed immunizations
It can be really hard to tell what’s wrong with your baby when they are sick. The symptoms of whooping cough can look like other illnesses. If your child is unwell and you are worried about them, get them checked by a doctor.
You can help protect your baby by keeping them away from sick children and adults as much as possible.
Never cough on babies.
You can also help protect babies from whooping cough by covering your cough, using tissues, thoroughly washing and drying your hands after you have coughed or sneezed and staying away from babies.
There is a test for whooping cough and if it is confirmed, antibiotics are sometimes given to close family members to protect them from infection, and from spreading the infection to others.
Parents can get answers to their questions about immunisation from their family doctor, nurse, Healthline 0800 611 116 or Plunketline 0800 933 922, the Immunisation Advisory Centre toll-free line 0800 IMMUNE (0800 466 863), or from www.moh.govt.nz or www.immune.org.nz