Ministerial Statement

Whooping Cough Vaccination

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING (Playford—Minister for Health, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Health Industries) (14:40): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: Today, I announced that the pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine will be free for all women in South Australia during the last trimester of pregnancy to help protect young babies against this deadly illness. The government's decision to provide free vaccination follows the tragic death last week of a four-week-old baby in Western Australia. I note that the father of that child particularly welcomed the South Australian government's move on this particular matter.

Research published last year found that maternal vaccination is the best way to protect babies from whooping cough during the first few months of life. As we saw last week, whooping cough is a very serious illness that can have devastating consequences for those who have not been fully immunised. Infants under six months of age are not able to complete the required series of vaccinations, so they remain especially vulnerable to whooping cough. By giving the mother a whooping cough vaccination in the last trimester of pregnancy, this immunity is transferred to their baby providing over 90 per cent protection.

I want to see as many families as possible take advantage of this protection, so we are going to provide the vaccine free to all pregnant mothers during their third trimester. My department will be working with GPs, maternity hospitals and obstetricians over coming weeks to organise a vaccination program to prevent further tragedy from occurring.

Whooping cough is a serious respiratory infection which is particularly dangerous in very young infants. The illness starts like a typical cold but is usually followed by long periods of dry coughing which can sometimes produce the signature whooping sound. While whooping cough numbers are still relatively low in South Australia, the cyclical nature of the illness means an increase in cases is likely in the near future, so it is important we prepare ourselves now.

There have been 119 cases of whooping cough in South Australia so far this year compared to 92 at the same time in 2013 and 127 in 2012. During the last outbreak in 2010, there were 7,520 cases of whooping cough in South Australia with more than 1,000 cases occurring in the first two months alone. Vaccination is the best way to prevent whooping cough; however, many people do not realise that immunity wanes over time and they may need a booster. I encourage anyone who is unsure of their immunisation status to speak to their doctor about getting a booster shot, particularly if they are pregnant or have contact with young children.