Babies at risk due to adults’ ignorance

Health experts are warning thousands of Kiwi babies could be exposed to whooping cough as a new survey shows many people are ignorant and complacent about the potentially deadly disease.

A nationwide outbreak of whooping cough was declared last year, with more than 1300 people contracting the disease since the beginning of 2017.

Whooping cough is a highly contagious disease, which can have devastating consequences for babies, including pneumonia, seizures, brain damage and death.

A recent survey found less than two-thirds of respondents were aware it was possible for adults to pass on whooping cough to infants.

The research, commissioned by GSK – a company selling whooping cough vaccines – and conducted by an independent research firm in October 2017, received more than 1000 responses.

Almost half of the respondents were unaware whether they were vaccinated or had received a booster against whooping cough.

Only a quarter said they were vaccinated for whooping cough and had received a booster shot.

Auckland University general practice senior lecturer Dr Helen Petousis-harris said the findings were worrying and it was ‘‘critical’’ babies and pregnant mothers were immunised.

Pregnant women can get immunised for free so they can pass their protection on to their babies for their first weeks of life. The vaccine was ‘‘incredibly effective’’ and safe, she said. Babies cannot get fully vaccinated against whooping cough until they are 6 months old.

Research estimates more than 70 per cent of infant cases are passed on by parents and close contacts.

Petousis-harris said only about 30 per cent of pregnant women chose to get vaccinated last year, up from 13 per cent in 2013. The uptake was much higher in Britain (about 70 per cent) and in the United States (up to 87 per cent in some populations).

The low uptake in New Zealand was due to a lack of awareness of how serious the disease was and pregnant women not necessarily being offered the vaccine by their lead maternity carer, she said.

The Ministry of Health recommends immunisation for people who are in contact with babies but the vaccine is not funded for the general population.

The disease can also be devastating for the elderly – those aged over 70 have the second highest percentage of hospitalisations next to children aged under 1. Adults are at risk of complications including rib fractures, weight loss, urinary incontinence and fainting from severe coughing, Petousisharris said.

Starship Children’s Hospital paediatric intensivist Dr Anusha Ganeshalingham said it was devastating to treat children with a preventable disease.

During the last outbreak in 2011-13, 38 children were admitted to Starship with whooping cough – and two died.

‘‘It is really distressing for our team when we are unable to save these babies and to see the absolute terror and then grief that the parents have to endure and also the guilt they can feel when their baby dies from what is essentially a preventable illness,‘‘ she said.

Children may need to be transported from around the country on specially equipped helicopters and aircraft flights before being treated by a team of specialists, Ganeshalingham said.

During the 2011–13 epidemic, there were 572 hospital admissions, costing an estimated $4.2 million.

Health experts’ advice for parents:

❚ Be up-to-date with immunisations before travelling for holidays;

❚ Ask family members and friends to check they have been vaccinated before coming into contact with newborn babies;

❚ Watch out for whooping cough symptoms in babies, which may include a high temperature, runny nose, sneezing, and coughing that progresses to coughing fits followed by a characteristic whoop.

A nationwide outbreak of whooping cough was declared last year.