BENDIGO is in the midst of its worst winter for whooping cough in years, with infection rates of the respiratory disease already three-and-a-half times higher than it was at this stage in 2014.
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The City of Greater Bendigo has recorded 81 cases of whooping cough (pertussis) this year as of August 19, up from 47 total cases in 2014 and 26 in 2013.
One primary school alone has had more than a dozen students contract pertussis since the middle of term two – and authorities are urging parents to take advantage of free vaccines against the disease to prevent further spread.
Maiden Gully Primary School alone has recorded 15 cases of pertussis since May.
“We’ve had a spike of students suffering seasonal respiratory illness such as common cold, flu and cases of whooping cough,” principal John Brownstein.
“It is high for us compared to what we've experienced in the recent past.”
Mr Brownstein said the school was following Health Department guidelines for managing the outbreak, providing information to parents and reinforcing good hygiene practices.
But Maiden Gully is not the only school to suffer an outbreak of winter illness – the Bendigo Advertiser spoke with several other schools which had recorded pertussis infections and many describing this winter as the worst in recent memory for seasonal illnesses.
Camp Hill Primary School principal Leonie Roberts said her school was not aware of any cases of whooping cough.
“But we have had huge amount of coughs, colds and kids presenting fluey type symptoms – more than ever,” she said.
“And there’s been a wide variety, from coughs and colds to vomiting and diarrhoea ever since school holidays.
“We do put really good hygiene practice in place – hand santisers, asking kids to cough appropriately – but it is very difficult when you have lots little bodies in one room.”
Victorian Health Department senior media advisor Bram Alexander said the schools were right to get students to scrub their hands and cover their coughs.
“But there are a number of ways that something like pertussis can get into a group of people – and lower than ideal vaccination rates could be one of them,” he said.
“[They are] doing the right thing and good hygiene is one of the cornerstones of good public health, but we also need to reinforce the message around vaccinations.”
Mr Alexander said Bendigo’s spike in pertussis was by no means an isolated case.
“This increase is being seen across the state, it’s part of a consistent picture, not only in the Victoria but across the eastern seaboard,” he said.
“We do tend to see peaks and troughs in pertussis and we don’t presently know a great deal as to why this occurs – but there are key thing for people to do and, as with all vaccine-preventable diseases, the main thing for people to do is to be vaccinated.”
Murray Primary Health Network medical adviser Doctor Ewa Piejko said her practice had diagnosed more cases of whooping cough this year.
But the Strathfieldsaye-based doctor said increased vigilance might partly explain the spike.
“What is difficult to know is – is it because there’s more whooping cough around or is it because the testing for whooping cough is much more sensitive?”
But Dr Piejko echoed calls for families to take advantage of a suite of free vaccinations.
“Over the last few years awareness [of pertussis] amongst doctors has increased so we are looking for it more – but that came about because more babies were getting hooping coughing,” she said.
Mr Alexander said free vaccinations were available for children, pregnant mothers and their partners.
He said that other carers and family members should also consider immunisation.
For more information go to the Department of Health and Human Services website.