Whooping cough outbreak is ‘well overdue’, experts say – as mum whose four-week-old baby boy died from infection pleads with pregnant women to get vaccinated

Riley was only three weeks old when he started sniffing, and four weeks old when he died.

In 2015, Catherine Hughes’ son was diagnosed with whooping cough, a respiratory infection that attacks the airways and causes bouts of uncontrollable coughing.

Although not always serious, it can last for months and cause serious health problems in children and young babies, when extreme coughing fits lead to breathing difficulties, vomiting, incontinence and broken ribs.

Riley’s cough quickly progressed to pneumonia and he was eventually placed on a ventilator while his body fought the infection

But it wasn’t enough.

Riley was only three weeks old when he started sniffing, and four weeks old when he died

Mrs. Hughes’ son died at age 32, too young to receive a whooping cough vaccine.

“Riley’s death has devastated our world,” she said.

“We were heartbroken and lost. But we knew we had to do something to prevent other families from experiencing the same pain.”

Riley was one of more than 20,000 Australian cases of the most recent whooping cough epidemic.

And with outbreaks expected every three to five years, University of Sydney professor Robert Booy says the next wave is imminent.

“It’s only a matter of time before we see a resurgence of whooping cough, possibly in the spring and summer months when infections traditionally increase,” he said.

“It’s really the sleeping bear of respiratory disease at the moment.”

The infection is more contagious than COVID-19, flu or measles, says Prof. Booy, with some epidemics accounting for almost 40,000 infections.

Anyone who gets whooping cough will also remain contagious for three weeks or until he or she has completed a course of antibiotics. This means that one sick person can infect up to seventeen other unvaccinated people.

Mrs. Hughes’ son died at age 32, too young to receive a whooping cough vaccine

Since her son’s death, Mrs Hughes has successfully advocated for the introduction of free whooping cough vaccines for pregnant women and founded the Immunization Foundation of Australia.

“There is huge room for improvement when it comes to reducing the spread of whooping cough in the wider community,” she says.

‘Many are unaware of the need for a booster vaccine and are likely to have minimal protection against whooping cough.’

Although the disease is often associated with infants and children, adults make up half of whooping cough cases.

But more than 80 percent of Australians cannot remember receiving a booster shot, even though it is needed every ten years to maintain a strong level of immunity.

With the expected increase in social events and travel during the warmer months, Prof Booy and Ms Hughes called on Australians to be vigilant and check their vaccination history.