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Phoebe Williams, Paediatrician & Infectious Diseases Physician; Senior Lecturer & NHMRC Fellow, Faculty of Medicine, University of Sydney

Whooping cough can be deadly for young babies. Vaccination is our best defence

Ground Picture/Shutterstock

So far in 2024 there have been more than 17,000 cases of whooping cough (pertussis) across Australia. This is well above our usual national average. It’s already six times more cases than we saw in all of 2023.

News headlines in multiple states have warned of whooping cough outbreaks over recent weeks and months. Most recently, Western Australia has reported a surge, highest in the state’s south-west.

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