Pregnant women are being urged to get a vaccination for whooping cough (pertussis) following a recent rise in cases in Victoria.
“Vaccination during pregnancy is recommended for all women in the third trimester,” said the Director of the South East Public Health Unit Professor Rhonda Stuart. “It is free and offers the best protection for their newborn baby.”
Whooping cough (pertussis) is a serious, contagious, respiratory infection caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis.
Victoria’s Chief Health Officer today issued a warning about a rise in cases and urged anyone who needs a vaccination to speak to their family doctor. This includes pregnant women and those who may have missed their childhood vaccinations.
The disease begins like a cold and then the characteristic cough develops. This cough may last up to 3 months, even after antibiotic treatment is completed and the person is no longer infectious.
Whooping cough is particularly dangerous for babies less than 6 months of age. These infants are too young to be fully immunised. They are affected more seriously by the disease than older children or adults and are more likely to develop complications.
Older children and adults who have not received whooping cough vaccination are at risk of infection and are often the source of infection in young infants.
There is an average of one death and more than 200 hospitalisations related to whooping cough in infants less than 6 months of age in Australia each year.