Australia is experiencing its worst ever whooping cough outbreak, with more than 41,000 cases reported this year.

In particular, New South Wales and Queensland have seen a significant rise in whooping cough among children aged between 10 and 14 years.

The whooping cough epidemic is the largest since the introduction of vaccines. The previous record was set in 2011 when 38,748 cases were confirmed for the entire year.

The Immunisation Foundation of Australia (IFA) has released its 2024 Whooping Cough Report Card, also finding a large spike in cases of school-aged children. It’s prompted a call for Australians to stay up to date with their vaccinations.

“Epidemics of whooping cough follow a fairly predictable pattern, so we did predict a rise in cases this year,” Dr Laurence Luu, Chancellor’s Research Fellow and Lecturer at University of Technology Sydney, said.

“However, we had not anticipated the magnitude of this outbreak, the largest since national notifiable disease reporting began.”

Whooping cough is a highly contagious bacterial infection that can cause severe coughing fits. The symptoms don’t appear straight away (usually a couple of weeks after) and in that time, it can be spread.

The rise in cases has coincided with a drop in community vaccination rates against whooping cough.

“Given the significant rise in whooping cough cases, current vaccination rates are a major concern,” Dr Luu said.

“While we do an incredible job protecting newborns and infants, re-vaccination or ‘booster’ rates are alarmingly low.”

You can check your vaccination status by talking to your doctor or pharmacist, or by looking up your Immunisation History Statement on the Express Plus Medicare app.