PUBLIC HEALTH ALERT
23 May 2024 - Page 1 of 2
To:
General Practitioners, Hospital Specialists, After-Hours Centres and Emergency Departments, Pharmacists, Lead Maternity Carers, College of GPs, College of Midwives, Hauora Māori and Pacific Health Providers, Well Child, Plunket, Laboratories and NZMN, NPHS national and regional services.
From: Dr Susan Jack, National Clinical Director | Medical Officer of Health, NPHS
Date: 23/05/2024
Title: Significant rise in Pertussis (Whooping Cough) cases across multiple regions
Please share the following information with relevant staff in your organisation. All public health alerts are available at www.rph.org.nz (health professionals – public health alerts)
Pertussis (Whooping cough) awareness
Whooping cough cases on the rise
There has been a significant increase in Pertussis cases across the motu since the beginning of May, which we are asking healthcare professionals to be alert to.
Epidemics of Pertussis have continued to occur every 3-5 years, with the last national outbreak in Aotearoa / New Zealand beginning in late 2017 and continuing through 2018. This means there is a higher likelihood of an outbreak occurring.
Thirty-six cases of Pertussis nationally have been notified to the National Public Health Service (NPHS) in the last two weeks of May alone, the largest number of cases since the month of August 2023 (34 cases)
The latest notified cases also represent a marked increase in cases since the beginning of the year, with 4 cases notified in January 2024.
ESR dashboard reporting shows that cases continue to occur widely across the motu, with all regions experiencing increases in case numbers at different times, contributing to an overall ‘upwards trend’ in cases in recent weeks
Cases to date have been spread across ages ranging from 1 to 65 years, and across most ethnicities.
Pertussis can be particularly severe for babies, and they may require hospital care.
Vaccination
• Advise pregnant people of the local increase in Pertussis and recommend the free Boostrix vaccination from 16 weeks in every pregnancy.
• Pertussis vaccination should be encouraged for the extended whānau of pregnant people, new babies and infants, although depending on their age they may not be eligible for a funded vaccine
• Encourage all staff, including reception and administrative staff, to be protected from Pertussis as well as influenza and measles. Booster vaccinations are recommended for all lead maternity carers and healthcare workers who are in daily contact with infants