Whooping Cough epidemic rages in Canterbury

Canterbury is still in the grip of a whooping cough epidemic which shows no sign of abating.

During the past year, a record 653 whooping cough cases were notified in the region.

Elsewhere, Southland had 306, Nelson-Marlborough 276, northwest Auckland 221 and Waikato 171.

Canterbury medical officer of health Mel Brieseman said he believed doctors were getting better at reporting whooping cough, otherwise known as pertussis, but the diagnosis was still quite difficult. A lot of it continued to go unrecognised and some people were not getting to the doctor.

He said it was also starting to affect young children to a larger extent and the problem had been gradually moving up New Zealand after starting in Southland early last year.

Dr Cameron Grant, a paediatrician at the Starship hospital in Auckland, said staff had noticed a lot of admissions in the past 12 months and there had been no sign of the number of cases decreasing.

- NZPA