Whooping cough cases surge in NSW

An escalation of whooping cough diagnoses across NSW has led to calls for a national review of how the potentially fatal disease could be prevented.

Medical experts have identified a "significant surge" in the number of whooping cough notifications during the first quarter of this year in NSW.

Between January and March this year there were 5,444 cases of whooping cough detected, compared to 696 during the same period in 2008.

Diagnosis is most common in children aged under six months, head of paediatrics at The Children's Hospital at Westmead Ken Peacock said.

"Whooping cough is a preventable condition," he said.

"It causes significant morbidity and mortality for infants and so the importance of giving an immunisation to prevent such a condition is vital."

NSW Health Minister John Della Bosca raised the issue of whooping cough at the Australian Health Workforce Ministerial Council in Melbourne on Friday and is seeking a national review of community education and prevention in relation to the disease.

"I urge new parents, grandparents and adults who regularly care for infants less than 12 months old to get vaccinated against whooping cough," he told reporters in Sydney.

Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon said officials had been asked to research the trends across Australia and the world.

"We hoped we were in a position where there wouldn't be deaths from whooping cough in this day and age," she told reporters in Canberra.

"So it is a serious issue. Minister Della Bosca is very concerned about it and has asked all health ministers to be involved, to see whether there were any changed protocols, any new information that needs to be provided to people and new literature that needs to be examined and our officials will be doing that."

Dr Peacock said he could not comment on whether immunisation rates among children had decreased, but that it is important to create a widespread immunity throughout the community.

"There would be at least one or two case fatalities probably per year and that's a serious problem. That's one or two too many," Dr Peacock said.

Ms Roxon also urged parents to have their children immunised.

"Certainly I would call upon all parents to vaccinate their children," she said.

"It is something that is a protection for them but it's a protection for the whole community."

In addition to the immunisation of young children, Dr Peacock said many doctors are now recommending booster vaccinations for adults, especially expectant parents.

"The greatest risk can be for children under the age of four to six months who haven't received their full immunisation course and then, being exposed to adults who may have a coughing illness ... are then able to spread that quite easily to susceptible infants," Dr Peacock said.

The symptoms of whooping cough may include runny nose, tiredness and mild fever and it is easily spread by droplets from coughing.

Dr Peacock said adults who spend time with young children should consider having a free booster vaccination from a GP because childhood immunisation can start to wane after about 10 years.