The Riverina has been gripped by a whooping cough epidemic with rates of the life-threatening illness skyrocketing by 650 per cent this year.
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Doctors have treated 31 patients for pertussis in the past fortnight in Wagga as a single child care centre saw four infants fall sick with the infection in just days.
Murrumbidgee Local Health District (MLHD) revealed a horrifying 413 cases have been diagnosed in the city this year – with just 66 reported in 2015 and 68 in 2014.
The statistics indicate the illness has become an epidemic in the region.
MLHD public health unit director Tracey Oakman said the spike reinforced the need for parents to ensure their kids were vaccinated on schedule.
“Even two weeks late is enough to increase the risk of infection,” Ms Oakman said, adding a child can still be immunised even if they have mild conditions such as the common cold or conjunctivitis.
“It’s only if the child has an illness with a high fever (that a vaccination should be delayed).”
A Lake Albert mother, who chose not to be identified to maintain her relationship with the child care centre, said a number of parents were panicking over a string of children falling ill.
“I’m terrified for them and my own kids,” she said.
“It seems like something has gone seriously wrong for the illness to increase so much.”
The spike in cases comes as a surprise considering Wagga boasts one of the highest immunisation rates in the state.
Ms Oakman said it could be put down to “waning immunity” rather than residents choosing not to vaccinate.
An even larger whooping cough outbreak occurred in the Murrumbidgee Local Health District in 2011, where 1322 people were recorded to have contracted the disease in the region.
Ms Oakman said those who were infected then would now have lost any immunity to bordetella pertussis and would need to receive a booster jab to stay protected.
She said the vaccine shortage in Wagga last year was not likely a factor in this year’s jump in cases.
“There was never a shortage for those on an immunisation schedule or pregnant women,” Ms Oakman said.
“The main problem is the vaccination doesn’t give lifetime immunity like others, such as the measles vaccine.”
