Whooping cough (pertussis) is a highly infectious disease that is spread by coughing and sneezing. It’s a serious infection that causes a long coughing illness and can be life threatening.

Whooping cough can be very serious for babies and children – especially those under 1 year old. If babies catch whooping cough, they:

• may not be able to feed or breathe properly.

• may become so ill they need to go to hospital.

• could end up with serious complications such as pneumonia and brain damage.

People with whooping cough are infectious from 6 days after exposure to the bacteria, when symptoms are like a normal cold, to 3 weeks after the ‘whooping’ cough begins – unless they are treated with antibiotics.

Many babies catch whooping cough from their older siblings or parents – often before they’re old enough to be vaccinated.

To protect your baby, get your free immunisation during pregnancy and take your baby for their free immunisations when they’re 6 weeks, 3 months and 5 months old.