Whooping cough cases increasing in NSW – What to do
Health authorities in both the South Eastern Sydney and Illawarra Area Health Service, and the Greater Southern Area Health Service have been alarmed at the sudden unexpected increase in the cases of whooping cough being diagnosed. Compared to the numbers reported last year, for the first 3 months of 2009 there has been a 1000% increase in the number of cases.
Whooping Cough, also known as Pertussis, is a highly contagious bacterial disease, which can sometimes be fatal. It was named after the ‘whooping’ sound of affected people struggling to suck in sufficient breath. Although it is easily prevented by vaccination it is still one of the leading causes of vaccine-preventable death worldwide, with 60% of the cases occurring in the developing world.
There is a 10-day incubation period after contracting the bacterium, after which it develops into a seemingly mild respiratory infection with symptoms of coughing, sneezing, tiredness and runny nose. However, whooping cough does not clear up, and after several weeks there can be coughing fits so severe that they may lead to vomiting, dehydration, malnutrition and nose bleeds. These coughing fits slowly diminish over 1 to 3 months as the person convalesces.
Once diagnosed it can be treated with antibiotics but pneumonia, encephalitis, pulmonary hypertension, and secondary bacterial infection can develop as complications of the disease. Prevention is much preferable to seeing anyone go through all this.
The NSW Health authorities are warning the community that all people who regularly encounter infants, as well as parents and grandparents, need to get vaccinated against whooping cough/pertussis, as do all infants at two months, four months and six months of age. Free whooping cough boosters are available from GPs. Up to 80% of family members who are not immunised will also get whooping cough if they live in the same house as someone who has the infection. For this reason, anyone who comes into close contact with someone who has it should also see their GP to receive antibiotics to prevent spread of the disease.