Baby dies from highly contagious illness

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A baby has died from whooping cough in Queensland. Picture: NewsWire / Glenn Campbell

A baby has died in Queensland after contracting whooping cough as the nation grapples with its largest epidemic of the illness since vaccines against it were introduced.

The baby was reportedly just two months old, according to the ABC.

Whooping cough is a highly contagious respiratory infection, with symptoms including cough, runny nose and a fever.

Queensland chief health officer John Gerrard said whooping cough can cause pneumonia, seizures and brain damage due to a lack of oxygen from coughing in babies.

“Whooping cough in babies is really a horrible disease,” Dr Gerrard told the ABC.

“It’s frightening not just for parents, it’s frightening for doctors and nurses looking after these small children because you just want to help them and you just can’t.”

PREMIER PRESSER
A baby has died from whooping cough in Queensland. Picture: NewsWire / Glenn Campbell

Research by the Immunisation Foundation of Australia found the number of whooping cough cases this year had already smashed the previous record set in 2011 when 38,748 cases were reported.

University of Technology Sydney lecturer Laurence Luu earlier said epidemics of the disease followed a “fairly predictable pattern”, predicting a rise in cases this year.

“However, we had not anticipated the magnitude of this outbreak, the largest since national notifiable reporting began,” Dr Luu said.

“Given the significant rise in whooping cough cases, current vaccination rates are a major concern.”

The Immunisation Foundation found one in four adolescents turning 13 years old in 2023 missed out on their whooping cough booster, while only one-in-five people aged more than 50 were up-to-date.

The foundation recommends adults receive a booster shot at least every 10 years to maintain protection against whooping cough, which is more contagious than influenza, Covid and measles.