Fears of a Whooping Cough Epidemic – Free Vaccines Available to Pregnant Women
South Australia’s Health Minister expresses concern we are headed for a whooping cough epidemic with a staggering 42 per cent jump in the number of cases.
In the last month alone four babies have fallen ill, sparking a warning to pregnant women.
Pregnant mother Jenna Sadauskas is taking no risks and doing everything she can do to protect her baby from contracting whooping cough, heeding the warning from health experts and getting the free vaccine.
It is the heartbreaking sound every parent dreads.
“You only have to see a few short seconds of a little baby who’s suffering from whooping cough to know that that’s an experience you don’t ever want to have to go through,” Ms Sadauskas said.
Whooping cough, also known as pertussis, is a bacterial infection that inflames the lungs and airways. The pertussis bacteria also infect the windpipe, where they bring on a persistent, violent cough. Whooping cough often starts with cold or flulike symptoms – sneezing, runny nose, and a mild cough, which may last up to two weeks before the more severe coughing spells begin. This illness can be very dangerous for babies under a year old, who are especially susceptible to complications such as pneumonia, convulsions, brain damage, and even death.
Professor Helen Marshall from the Adelaide Women’s and Children’s Hospital explains “It’s a nasty infection at any stage of life but it’s really serious in infants under six months of age,”
In that vulnerable age group the illness can be fatal or cause permanent brain injury.
Twenty four babies have been diagnosed in SA since January last year. In the past three weeks, four babies have fallen ill.
In total, 260 cases have been recorded this year, up 42 per cent on the same time last year. Health Minister Jack Snelling said there was “a good chance we’re heading towards another epidemic of whooping cough in the next few years”.
A newborn’s only protection is its mother being vaccinated before giving birth.
The maternal vaccines are given to mums-to-be in their last trimester of pregnancy and can pass over 90 per cent protection to their baby.
For older children attending play group, the health minister has hinted compulsory vaccines may also be on the agenda.
As parents we have a responsibility to protect our children, this vaccination for pregnant women is free, it will give your baby protection against a potentially life threatening disease. Watching your child fight for life against a cruel and callous vaccine preventable disease is something no parent should have to live and something no child should have to suffer through. Make informed and educated decision, speak to your obstetrician and local GP and do everything you can to give your child the best and healthiest start to life.
