About Whooping Cough

Whooping cough (or pertussis) is a highly contagious respiratory infection caused by the bacteria ‘bordetella pertussis‘. Although the infection is mild in adults, if passed on to vulnerable babies it can be life-threatening. ¹

Picture from: Sanofi Pasteur booklet: ‘Preventing disease, Our Passion’.

It is easily spread from person-to-person via droplets from close contact i.e. when you talk, sneeze, cough or kiss.

If you catch it, there is an 80% chance that other members of your household will catch it too.²

After being exposed to the bacteria, symptoms will start to appear from 1 to 3 weeks later.¹

You are contagious for about 1 week prior to coughing (so you can pass it on before the main symptoms start to appear) and a further 2 weeks after the coughing starts.¹

Whooping cough is known as the "100-day cough" because you can have the symptoms for as long as 3 months.¹

Whooping cough begins with flu-like symptoms such as a blocked or runny nose, sneezing, mild fever, mild cough.¹

A thick, sticky mucus develops in the windpipe, which makes it difficult to eat, drink and breathe.

In babies, this results in coughing fits often accompanied by a ‘whoop’ as it struggles to catch its breath. The cough can be so bad that it can cause vomiting at the end of it, rupture small blood vessels in the front of the eye or even fracture a rib. However, very young babies may not cough at all, the first sign may be gagging or they could just stopping breathing (apnoea).

Older children and adults may just have a dry, persistent cough often without the ‘whoop’, so many cases are often mistaken for a bad chest cold or bronchitis. Although cases in adults are considered mild, they are still highly contagious and can easily be unknowingly passed on to others.¹

The disease is serious in babies and can cause them to stop breathing (and turn blue), contract pneumonia, have a seizure, suffer brain damage or be fatal.¹ Most hospitalisations and deaths occur in babies less than 6 months of age as they are not adequately protected.³

Adults & adolescents suffer relatively mild complications, compared to babies such as rib fractures, coughing fits followed by vomiting and exhaustion due to disturbed sleep.¹ The main issue is that the disease can be passed on to vulnerable babies.¹

The number of people diagnosed with whooping cough in Australia are the highest they’ve been in 20 years.⁴ In 2010, there were 4 people diagnosed with whooping cough every hour!⁴

Whooping cough was once regarded as a disease of the past, however its making a devastating comeback.

Some of the increase in diagnosed cases may be due to increased awareness and testing, capturing cases previously missed.

How many people have been diagnosed with whooping cough in your State this year? Click here to find out.

The most effective way to prevent whooping cough is to get vaccinated.²

Whooping cough vaccination schedule

What programs are running in your State? Click here to find out.

1. Start the babies vaccinations on time. The federal government are encouraging parents to start vaccinating their babies against pertussis from 6-8 weeks of age.⁵
2. Cocoon the baby, by vaccinating all adults in close contact of the baby.*

*Those who have not had a previous adolescent or adult booster

Are you in one of the following groups recommended to have an adult whooping cough booster?* ²

*Those who have not had a previous adolescent or adult booster

• Couples planning a pregnancy (Download pre-pregnancy planning checklist)
• New parents (including breastfeeding mothers)
• Grandparents
• Adults working with young children e.g. childcare workers
• Other household adult members or carers of young children
• All healthcare workers

Whether you’ve had the disease or the vaccine, immunity to whooping cough only lasts for approximately six to ten years.⁷ Most adults would not have received a whooping cough vaccine since they were 4 years of age, as the school-based immunisation program was only introduced in 2004.

The age of delivery for school-based immunisation programs varies by state & territory

• Year 7 – WA, NSW*
• Year 8 – NT
• Year 9 – ACT, SA
• Year 10 – QLD, NSW*, VIC, TAS.

*  dTpa vaccine is offered in Year 7 and Year 10 in NSW in 2011 and 2012. From 2013, dTpa will be offered routinely in Year 7 only

Please note: The adult whooping cough booster is a combination vaccine that will also help protect you against tetanus and diphtheria.

The vaccine works by causing your body to produce its own protection against whooping cough. It does this by making antibodies in the blood, which fight the bacteria that cause the disease. If you come into contact with the bacteria, your body is usually ready to destroy them. The vaccine will not give you or your child whooping cough.⁶

Remember that even if you’re immunised, you can sometimes catch whooping cough so be on the look out for symptoms. Natural infection with whooping cough does not guarantee lifelong protection either.²

Babies are born with maternal antibodies however this does not give adequate protection against whooping cough, nor does breast milk. As a result, babies can be infected before they are old enough to be fully vaccinated.²

If you suspect you may have whooping cough, please make an appointment to see your GP as soon as possible. If your doctor thinks you have whooping cough, a swab will be taken from the back of the nose, or a blood test will be done, to help confirm the diagnosis.²

If diagnosed with whooping cough, you should stay away from work, school or childcare until no longer infectious.

There is no cure for whooping cough, however antibiotics will help prevent you spreading the infection to others. The disease has to run its course, which could mean you have coughing fits for up to 100 days.²

Antibiotics will be prescribed if whooping cough is detected early. After 5 days of antibiotic treatment (or 3 weeks of the infection), you will no longer be infectious.²

If you suspect you have been in contact with an infected person, you may also need antibiotics to help prevent the infection.²