Fifty five cases of whooping cough have been diagnosed in in the greater Wellington region since 1st January this year. This is twice as many as the average monthly number of cases notified in 2017.
There have been 21 cases in the Wellington region, 19 in the Hutt Valley and 15 in the Wairarapa.
The age range is from babies < 6 months to adults in their 70’s. There were three babies under 1 year of age; this is age group at highest risk of severe disease and complications.
The Immunisation Advisory Centre recommends that close family contacts of young infants, such as grandparents and fathers have a booster dose of pertussis vaccine to reduce spread of the disease. Older siblings should be up-to-date with their immunisations.
You can find out more here:
http://www.immune.org.nz/diseases/pertussis