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| Anti-vaccination trend blamed for whooping cough outbreaks
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Earlier in the year, parents were warned of a sharp increase in whooping cough outbreaks in New South Wales, Victoria and the ACT. And in June 19, schoolchildren in the Brisbane area contracted the potentially deadly disease. Cases across the country are up between 100 and 300 per cent depending on the state.
Infectious diseases expert Professor Matthew Cooper attributed the outbreak to an anti-vaccination trend.
"It's unfortunately just part of a growing trend that many people have decided not to immunise," he said.
"We've seen this with other diseases that are more serious than pertussis, but unfortunately the more people who choose not to immunize, the more likely it is we'll get outbreaks."
And while whooping cough may not be one of the most serious diseases, it can still be deadly, especially to the vulnerable. About one in 200 infants under the age of six months who contract whooping cough will die from pneumonia or brain damage.
It may not be deadly for most, but it's the sort of disease you would never want your child to experience: uncontrolled coughing and vomiting, which can last for several months and it can give your child a permanent weakness in terms of their susceptibility to respiratory difficulties.
Whooping cough is not only dangerous but highly infectious: In a household where someone has whooping cough, an estimated 80-90% of the unimmunised contacts of that person will get the disease.
Babies are at greatest risk of contracting whooping cough until they have had at least two doses of the vaccine (aged four months), as their mother's antibodies do not provide reliable protection and babies have the highest death rate.
So what is it?
Causes
Whooping cough is spread through respiratory droplets, which can be transmitted in the air through coughing or sneezing, or from close contact with an infected person.
Symptoms
It takes between seven and twenty days after infection for the symptoms of whooping cough to appear. The disease begins like a cold, before the characteristic "whooping" cough develops.
This cough may persist for several months, and lead to sleep disturbance and significant weight loss. Severe complications, which occur almost exclusively in unvaccinated people, include pneumonia (lung infection) and hypoxic encephalopathy (lack of oxygen to the brain).
Prevention
The Pertussis vaccine is the best way to reduce the risk of whooping cough in children.
Doses of the free vaccine are given at two, four and six months of age, with booster doses at four years and 10-15 years.
A single booster dose of adult formulation pertussis vaccine is also recommended for all pregnant women in their third trimester of pregnancy as their antibodies transfer to the new born through the placenta.
A dose is also recommended for adult household contacts and carers (e.g. fathers, grandparents) of infants under six months of age at least two weeks before beginning close contact with the infant to reduce the chance of passing on the bacteria.
Requirements now prevent child care facilities from enrolling children unless immunisation certificates proving that they are fully immunised, or have a specified exemption, are provided at enrolment.
This means that child care facilities must have documented evidence that children are up to date with their vaccinations, or that they are on a recognised catch-up schedule, or that they have a medical contraindication to vaccination, or their parents have a conscientious objection to vaccination, before enrolling a child.
Unvaccinated children may be excluded from child care facilities in the event of an outbreak of a vaccine preventable disease for their own protection and the protection of others.
From 1 January 2016, under the No Jab No Pay policy, conscientious objection will be removed as an exemption category from meeting the immunisation requirements for Child Care Benefit and Child Care Rebate (subject to the passage of legislation).
This means that unless children are vaccinated, parents will no longer be eligible for Government child care fee assistance.
Children can only be exempt from vaccinations on medical grounds
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