A student from St Joseph's Primary School in Goulburn has been diagnosed with whooping cough.
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The student was diagnosed earlier this week and hasn't attended school since.
There have been nine confirmed cases of whooping cough so far this year in the Southern NSW Health District.
A total of 347 cases were confirmed in the district in 2019. In total more than 6000 people were diagnosed with the disease last year.
District director of public health Tracey Oakman said the whooping cough (pertussis) vaccine was the single best protection against the disease.
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"Timely vaccination of infants, preschool children, adolescents and adults in accordance with the recommended schedule is essential, and free vaccination of pregnant women in the third trimester of pregnancy (preferably at 28 weeks) protects very young babies, who are the most vulnerable," she said.
"Parents and grandparents and people working with small children, including health care and childcare workers, are recommended to have the whooping cough vaccine if it has been more than 10 years since their last vaccination."
Ms Oakman said the NSW Department of Education had procedures on infection control that advised schools to communicate with students and their parents and carers to ensure they were well informed about symptoms and what to do if these symptoms developed.
The NSW Government has invested approximately $130 million in the 2019-20 Immunisation Program budget, including Commonwealth and state vaccines.
Symptoms include:
- Whooping cough usually begins like a cold with a blocked or runny nose, tiredness, mild fever and a cough.The cough gets worse and severe bouts of uncontrollable coughing can develop. Coughing bouts can be followed by vomiting, choking or taking a big gasping breath which causes a "whooping" sound. The cough can last for many weeks and can be worse at night.
- Some newborns may not cough at all but they can stop breathing and turn blue. Some babies have difficulties feeding and can choke or gag.
- Older children and adults may just have a cough that lasts for many weeks. They may not have the whoop.
Further information on whooping cough can be found on the NSW Health website at: www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/factsheets/Pages/pertussis.aspx
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