Are you or your children coughing?

Get a whooping cough PCR test today to protect yourself, your family and most especially your young children who are the most at risk for untreated whooping cough.

24-Apr-2023: There have been 11 cases of whooping cough in 2023 so far. The three infants who died from the infection this year were all under one year old.

Whooping cough, also known as pertussis or the 'hundred-day-cough', is a highly contagious respiratory tract infection caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis.

It is characterized by severe coughing spells, which can make it difficult for the person to breathe.

The name "whooping cough" comes from the distinctive "whoop" sound that is made when the person inhales deeply after a coughing spell.

Frequent Questions (FAQs)

What are the Symptoms?

Whooping cough starts like a cold with a runny nose, cough and fever, so it can be hard to recognise as a serious illness at first. After seven to ten days the cough becomes more severe and causes coughing fits that may end with a ‘whoop’, dry retching or vomiting.

Whooping cough in young babies is unpredictable and can get worse very quickly. Parents should also seek urgent medical advice if their baby:

• Stops breathing
• Goes blue with coughing
• Appears to have a cold, then cough and have difficulty breathing
• Gets exhausted from coughing
• Is not able to feed properly because of coughing and difficulty breathing
• Loses weight because of difficulty feeding and because the cough causes them to vomit (be sick).

Is it Dangerous?

This illness is unpleasant for anyone, but it is life-threatening for babies.

Is it Contagious?

Highly. Whooping cough (also called pertussis or the ‘hundred-day-cough') is highly infectious and is spread by coughing and sneezing.

People can pass on the illness from the week before their cough starts. Early diagnosis and treatment with antibiotics can reduce the time a person is infectious to just two to five days but left untreated they can pass on the illness for up to three weeks.

How can we protect our families?

The best protection against whooping cough is to be immunised. Babies and young children should get their vaccine doses on-time at six weeks, three months and five months. Booster doses are then available at four and 11 years old.

It is particularly important for tamariki (children) to be up to date with their vaccinations if there is a new baby in the house.

Parent and caregivers should also be immunised against whooping cough to protect themselves and the children in their home, school or child care centre.

Source: Health New Zealand

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