<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Childhood whooping cough cases across </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/australia" rel="" target="" title="Australia"><span>Australia</span></a><span> have surged to record heights, with a 10-year-low in child vaccination rates contributing to the spike, according to doctors.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Nearly 38,000 cases of whooping cough were recorded in children aged 0 to 14 in 2024, data from the Productivity Commission shows.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Cases of the disease have fluctuated over the past 10 years, but the latest figures represent an almost quadruple increase from the year before, which recorded 9639 cases.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/ride-share-driver-charged-sexual-assault-collingwood-melbourne/60acf57d-f010-4ad6-9e67-757fe82bca17" target="_blank"><strong><span>Rideshare driver charged after allegedly raping passenger in Melbourne</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Experts say the potentially deadly respiratory infection tends to spike every five or six years, but the most recent spike poses a particular challenge.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"There's no question that the 2024 surge was bigger than the previous surge," federal Health Minister Mark Butler said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We saw a huge number of cases and it appears even early in 2026 we're still seeing quite significant numbers of cases."</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/postcovid-vaccine-hesitancy-partly-to-blame-for-record-whooping-cough-cases-doctors-say/22902235-598e-455d-9f88-f8c0e6a6f50e" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Doctors say vaccine hesitancy, especially during COVID, has contributed to the rise in whooping cough.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The proportion of fully immunised children in Australia has declined to 91.6 per cent.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Before the pandemic, in 2019, 94.6 per cent of Australian children were fully immunised.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/pub-tests-show-thousands-of-drinkers-ripped-off-over-drink-sizes/85131921-b40d-495c-803a-01ab9084cea0" target="_blank"><strong><span>Thousands of pub goers risk being ripped off with drink sizes, report says</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"There's certainly more hesitancy nowadays, whether that's influenza or pertussis," RACGP Victoria Co-Chair Dr Aadhil Aziz said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I'm not surprised, but I am concerned as a health care professional because we worry about misinformation, we worry about the knock-on effect that fear has driven into social media."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Reduced exposure to the infection and lower immunity coming out of the pandemic has also had an impact on numbers.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The infection is most severe in babies, but experts say there's also a misconception that only children can get it.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"They are by far the most vulnerable, but of course you can have other vulnerable populations as well," Aziz said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The vulnerable populations are always the youngest and the oldest...or anyone with any immunocompromised medical conditions."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/us-journalist-savannah-guthrie-mother-still-out-there-says-sheriff/8e825442-ab44-42b4-9950-5e5032d8682d" target="_blank"><strong><span>Savannah Guthrie's missing mother is 'still out there,' sheriff says</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The whooping cough vaccine is free for infants under 18 months, 12 to 13-year-olds, and pregnant women.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"What we want to see is as many pregnant mums take advantage of the free whooping cough vaccination in their third trimester as possible," Butler said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"That's good for your protection, but it's also good for protecting your newborn baby in those first several weeks of their life before they get their first whooping cough jab at the age of two months."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>All adults are also urged to get immunised.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"This is not just an issue for parents thinking about immunising their young children and babies, this is a challenge we have right across the population," Butler said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"This is a preventable condition. We have the means to prevent it, but we need to all come together," Aziz said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><em><span>NEVER MISS A STORY: Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.</span></em></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><ul><li><strong><em><span>Download the 9NEWS App here via</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Apple</span></em></strong></a><span> </span><strong><em><span>and</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU&amp;pli=1" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Google Play</span></em></strong></a></li><li><strong><em><span>Make 9News your preferred source on Google by</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://9.nine.com.au/8x987w" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>ticking this box here</span></em></strong></a></li><li><strong><em><span>Sign up to</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://login.nine.com.au/edm?client_id=nineatnine" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>our breaking newsletter here</span></em></strong></a></li></ul></div></div>