About whooping cough

Whooping cough is a highly contagious disease caused by Bordetella pertussis, a type of bacteria. It spreads when you touch or breathe in droplets from an infected person’s cough or sneeze.

Although most children are routinely immunised against whooping cough, there are outbreaks of whooping cough from time to time.

Whooping cough is also called pertussis.

Whooping cough symptoms

Symptoms usually start to appear 1-2 weeks after infection with the whooping cough bacteria.

The early symptoms look like the symptoms of a cold. For the first week or so, children might have a runny nose, sneezing and an occasional mild fever.

The cough develops gradually, starting at night but getting worse in the daytime. Children might have bouts of coughing that make it hard for them to breathe in. They might also make a ‘whooping’ sound at the end of coughing bouts as they gasp for a deep breath.

The bouts of coughing get worse over the next 2 weeks, increasing both in severity and frequency. The coughing bouts can be exhausting. Children’s faces might turn red or purple. Sometimes children might vomit after coughing bouts. Children are usually comfortable between bouts.

The cough might linger for months.

Children can be contagious for up to 21 days after the cough starts.

Children who have been immunised against whooping cough are much less likely to get the disease. If immunised children do get whooping cough, their symptoms are usually milder.

Whooping cough complications

In babies under 6 months of age, whooping cough often has serious complications including severe pneumonia and apnoeas (pauses in breathing).

In young children, pneumonia and middle ear infections are the most common complications.

If your child has whooping cough and has lost their appetite or is vomiting a lot with the coughing bouts, there’s a chance they might lose weight and get dehydrated.

Medical help: when to get it for children with whooping cough symptoms

Babies under 6 months
Young babies need medical attention as soon as possible if they have any whooping cough symptoms. Take your baby to the GP.

Take your baby to your nearest hospital emergency department or call 000 for an ambulance straight away if they have breathing difficulties or pauses.

Older babies, children and teenagers
You should take your child to the GP if they have any of the symptoms described above or you think they have whooping cough. You should also take your child to the GP if your child has:

• repeated and distressing coughing fits
• a cough that lasts longer than 2 weeks
• a prolonged fever as well as a cough
• a sore ear as well as a cough
• whooping cough and weight loss or signs of dehydration.

Take your child to your nearest hospital emergency department or call 000 for an ambulance straight away if they:

• have trouble breathing or struggle for breath after coughing fits
• turn blue or purple around the mouth after coughing fits.

Whooping cough treatment

If your child has had a cough for less than 3 weeks, your doctor might prescribe antibiotics. Antibiotics don’t usually help with whooping cough symptoms, but they reduce the length of time your child is infectious. This means antibiotics can help to prevent the spread of whooping cough from your child to others.

If your child’s cough is severe and causes them breathing difficulties or your child is less than 6 months old, your doctor might recommend a hospital stay for close nursing care.

Other people in your house – especially children under 12 months – might be prescribed antibiotics to stop them catching whooping cough.

Children can usually go back to child care, preschool or school after 5 days of antibiotics. Children who haven’t been taking antibiotics shouldn’t go to child care, preschool or school for 21 days after their cough starts.

Whooping cough prevention

The best way to avoid whooping cough is to have your child immunised and keep up with immunisation in the teenage years. As part of the Australian National Immunisation Program (NIP), your child will get free immunisation against whooping cough at:

• 6-8 weeks
• 4 months
• 6 months
• 18 months
• 4 years
• 12-13 years.

These immunisations are given by injection, often in combination with immunisation against other diseases.

Immunity against whooping cough fades with time. This means it’s possible to get the disease at a later age even if you’ve been immunised. Adults who are in contact with children younger than 6 months should have booster shots to avoid getting the infection and passing it on. Babies of this age haven’t completed the immunisation schedule and are still at risk of infection.

If you’re planning to get pregnant or already are pregnant, it’s a good idea to speak with your GP about your immunisation status. A whooping cough booster is recommended and free for pregnant women in their third trimester. It protects your newborn for the first 2 months of life when they’re most at risk of complications from whooping cough.