Warning as whooping cough cases on the rise

Parents are being urged to ensure their children's whooping cough vaccinations are up to date as cases of the illness have increased nationally over the past year.

Canterbury Medical Officer of Health Ramon Pink said whooping cough was serious and could be life-threatening, but was preventable through vaccinations.

Babies should be vaccinated at six weeks, three months and five months, and children should have booster doses at four and 11 years.

Babies who did not receive their immunisations on time had a five-times-greater risk of being hospitalised with whooping cough, and children under one year were most at risk of serious complications from it, including death.

To help avoid whooping cough and other illnesses, parents should keep babies away from anyone with a cough, Dr Pink said.

Symptoms started with a runny nose and dry cough, getting worse over the next few weeks and developing into attacks of coughing.

The "whoop" sound occurred as babies draw a breath after a long coughing attack.

Babies might go blue or stop breathing during coughing attacks and might vomit afterwards.

More information about whooping cough is available on the Immunisation Advisory Centre website.

- NZPA