Alert on whooping cough

By REBECCA WALSH health reporter

Doctors are warning of a "nasty" whooping cough epidemic, with more than double the number of cases reported so far this year.

Nationally, 324 cases were notified in the first three months of the year, compared with 149 last year.

Dr Cameron Grant, a paediatrician at Starship children's hospital, said whooping cough rates had been rising over the past 30 years. Epidemics recurred about every four years - the last New Zealand epidemic was in 1999-2001 when three infants died.

It was likely the coming epidemic would be particularly nasty because notification and hospital admission rates had not returned to the levels before 1999, Dr Grant said.

Countries with higher immunisation rates, such as Australia and Britain, had a much lower incidence of whooping cough than New Zealand.

"Of all the immunisation preventable diseases in the world this is the one that still kills babies in developed countries. It still kills babies despite intensive care."

Dr Grant said parents often delayed immunisation because of concerns their baby had a cold, asthma or skin infection, but the vaccine could still safely be used and the risk of adverse reactions was low.

Dr Nikki Turner, director of the Immunisation Advisory Centre at Auckland University, said children were five to 10 times more likely to end up in hospital if vaccination was delayed.

Vaccination was better late than never but she warned people to think about where they took young babies. "Be wary of exposing kids to people with lousy coughs. Be more thoughtful about where you take them."

No cure

* Whooping cough is a severe bacterial infection that causes prolonged bouts of coughing, which can last up to three months.

* It affects people of all ages but is particularly severe in babies and children under one.

* The most common way of catching it is from another coughing household member.

* There is no cure but its spread can be stopped with antibiotics.