At a glance

• Vaccine preventable – check who’s eligible
• Vaccine included on the National Immunisation Program – check who’s eligible
• Nationally notifiable disease

About whooping cough

Whooping cough (pertussis) is a highly contagious respiratory disease caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis. 

People with whooping cough can have severe coughing fits. The cough can linger for weeks or even months.

Vaccination is the best way to prevent whooping cough.

Why it matters to public health

Whooping cough can cause severe disease, and even death. 

People with whooping cough can be contagious for several weeks and spread the disease to others they have contact with. 

It is most serious for babies who are too young to be fully vaccinated, so protecting babies and pregnant people from infection is an important public health priority.

In 2024, more than 57,000 cases of whooping cough were reported in Australia. This was the highest yearly number since we started recording whooping cough cases in 1991. 

Children aged 5 to 14 years made up more than half of all reported cases (57%) in 2024. 

Whooping cough can spread quickly in homes, schools and other settings. 

Because of these major impacts we monitor and report on cases in Australia. Check the latest case numbers using our data visualisation tool.

Symptoms

If you’re looking for advice about your own health or treatment options, see healthdirect or speak with a qualified healthcare professional. Our role is to provide public health advice – information and guidance that helps prevent disease, protect communities and improve wellbeing at a population level. 

Common symptoms in the first week of illness include:

• runny nose
• sneezing
• mild dry cough.

After 1 to 2 weeks, the cough usually gets worse, and there can be long episodes of heavy coughing. These episodes can sometimes end in vomiting. 

The ‘whoop’ sound between coughing episodes is caused by taking a quick breath. But this doesn’t always happen.

Babies and young children might not cough but might have trouble breathing.

healthdirect’s symptom checker can help you decide whether to see a healthcare professional. 

Check your symptoms

Onset of symptoms

Symptoms usually start 7 to 10 days after getting infected, but this can range from 4 to 21 days.

How it spreads

Whooping cough can spread easily through respiratory droplets and secretions from your respiratory tract. When you cough, sneeze, speak or sing, these droplets spread through the air and land on people or surfaces.

People can catch whooping cough by:

• their mouth, nose or eyes coming into contact with these droplets
• breathing in these droplets
• having direct physical contact with the infected person. 

Infectious period

People with whooping cough can infect others from when their first symptoms begin. You are considered infectious until either: 

• 3 weeks after the cough starts
• you have finished 5 days of treatment with an appropriate antibiotic prescribed by a healthcare professional.

Prevention

Vaccination

Get vaccinated

The best way to protect against whooping cough is to get vaccinated. 

Vaccination:

• protects against serious illness with whooping cough
• during pregnancy protects babies after they are born – antibodies are transferred through the placenta
• reduces the number of people who get infected in the community. 

Getting vaccinated also helps to protect babies who are too young to be fully vaccinated and other people who aren’t immune. 

Other prevention steps

Protecting yourself

Other ways to protect yourself against whooping cough include:

• regularly washing your hands
• covering your nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing
• disposing of used tissues in the bin
• putting physical distance between yourself and others
• avoiding touching your eyes, nose and mouth, particularly if you are around people who are unwell.

Protecting others

Other ways to protect others against whooping cough include:

• avoiding contact with babies under 6 months and pregnant people if you are unwell
• seeing your healthcare professional if you have a coughing illness
• regularly washing your hands, especially around babies and pregnant people
• coughing and sneezing into your elbow or a tissue, especially around babies and pregnant people
• keeping unwell children home from childcare or school.

Read more ways to prevent whooping cough.

Priority groups and settings

Some people are at greater risk of getting whooping cough or getting very sick from it.

Whooping cough can spread quickly in homes and other settings including:

• childcare centres
• schools
• healthcare facilities.

If you are at greater risk, or have regular contact with somebody at greater risk, it is especially important to: 

• discuss your vaccination status with your doctor and get vaccinated, if recommended
• take steps to protect yourself.

People at greater risk of severe disease

Whooping cough poses a greater risk of severe illness for:

• babies – especially those aged under 6 months, who are the most likely to need hospital care
• people who have not been fully vaccinated
• older people – especially those aged over 65 years. 

People at greater risk of exposure

Anyone can get whooping cough, but people may be at greater risk of being exposed to whooping cough if they: 

• are in a place where whooping cough is circulating in the community
• live, work, or go to school or childcare with somebody who has whooping cough.

Diagnosis and treatment

Your healthcare professional can diagnose whooping cough with a test. The sample is usually collected from the nose or throat with a swab and sent to a laboratory for testing.

Read more about diagnosing whooping cough.

You should see your healthcare professional if you think you or your child might:

• have whooping cough
• have had close contact with someone who has whooping cough.

You can use healthdirect’s directory to find a health service near you. 

Find a health service

Your healthcare professional might prescribe antibiotics to treat whooping cough. Antibiotics can reduce your risk of spreading whooping cough to other people.

Read more about how to manage or treat whooping cough.

Surveillance and reporting

Whooping cough (pertussis) is a nationally notifiable disease – these are diseases that present a risk to public health.

Health authorities in each state and territory report new confirmed and probable cases to us daily through the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System. 

This is part of our surveillance activities, which help us monitor case numbers around the country and understand disease patterns. 

We analyse this data, and report on whooping cough case numbers through our data visualisation tool, where you can filter and search the latest information.

Outbreaks

Outbreaks of whooping cough tend to occur every few years in Australia and worldwide. Outbreaks can happen at any time of the year.

Outbreaks can occur in some groups and settings. 

During outbreaks, state and territory governments might take extra public health actions to prevent further infections. These can include:

• monitoring people for symptoms where the outbreak is occurring
• promoting vaccination to people who live or work where the outbreak is occurring
• alerting healthcare professionals in the community
• temporarily closing an affected childcare facility
• issuing media alerts to the wider community.

Read more about how the Australian Government defines and plans for outbreaks and pandemics.

Support

For information about whooping cough in your state or territory see:

• Australian Capital Territory
• New South Wales
• Northern Territory
• Queensland
• South Australia
• Tasmania
• Victoria
• Western Australia.

For travel advice, see Smartraveller.

Quick links

• National Guidelines for Public Health Units
• Surveillance case definition
• Laboratory case definition

Disease

Infectious agent

Pertussis is caused by the bacteria Bordatella pertussis, a gram-negative coccobacillus. 

B. pertussis only infects humans. There is no known animal or environmental reservoir. 

Clinical presentation

Pertussis is a prolonged coughing illness. Clinical presentation varies with age and immunity (from vaccination or previous infection).

The initial (catarrhal) phase is characterised by upper respiratory tract symptoms including:

• coryza (runny nose)
• sneezing
• mild dry cough
• low-grade fever (uncommon).

The cough gradually worsens over the next 1 to 2 weeks and can become paroxysmal. This is when severe, heavy coughing occurs in a series during a single expiration. The cough can last 2 to 8 weeks and can involve:

• vomiting
• cyanosis (blueish lips and skin)
• a distinctive high-pitched ‘whooping’ sound when breathing in. 

Serious complications can include:

• pneumonia
• atelectasis (partial or complete lung collapse)
• encephalopathy (rare).

Infants, especially those younger than 6 months, might present with more severe disease and need hospitalisation for complications. These can include:

• apnoea
• seizures
• pulmonary hypertension.

Read more about symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of pertussis.

Public health importance

Pertussis is a highly contagious, vaccine-preventable bacterial respiratory illness. It can cause severe disease, complications and death, particularly in infants aged under 6 months.

People with whooping cough can be contagious for several weeks, which means there may be many opportunities to pass on the infection.

The pertussis vaccine is safe and highly effective in protecting people from infection and serious complications of pertussis. 

This highlights the importance of: 

• maintaining high levels of vaccination coverage
• monitoring and reporting on pertussis cases to inform public health response measures.

Epidemiology

Pertussis infections are common in Australia, with epidemics occurring every 3 to 4 years. Although there is no clear seasonal pattern, pertussis notifications generally peak during early November.[1]

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, between 2016 and 2019, pertussis was responsible for:

• 2,034 hospitalisations, with the highest rates in the infants aged under 6 months
• 10 deaths.[2]

In 2024, Australia recorded the highest number of pertussis notifications since we started recording in 1991. More than 57,000 cases were reported, with the highest notification rate in children aged 9 to 11 years.

Since routine pertussis vaccination during pregnancy began in 2015, the pertussis notification rate in infants aged under 2 months has fallen.[3]

But pertussis hospitalisations for this age group remain a concern, as they have: 

• remained the highest out of all age groups (followed by infants aged 2 to 3 months)
• declined at a slower rate than pertussis case notifications.[3]

For the latest information on pertussis cases in Australia, see our data visualisation tool.

Spread of infection

Transmission

Pertussis is mainly transmitted by respiratory droplets that are aerosolised when an infected person coughs. 

Less commonly, transmission may occur by direct contact with the respiratory secretions of an infected person. 

Outside the human body, B. pertussis can only survive for a few hours in respiratory secretions. 

Indirect spread through fomites is rare.

Incubation period

The incubation period is usually 7 to 10 days, but can range from 4 to 21 days.

Infectious period

Cases are considered infectious from the onset of symptoms until the earlier of either: 

• 21 days after the onset of cough
• 14 days after onset of paroxysmal cough
• 5 days of an appropriate antibiotic course have been completed.

Priority populations

People at greater risk of severe disease

Pertussis poses a greater risk of severe illness for:

• infants, particularly those aged under 6 months
• children who have not been fully vaccinated
• adults who have not been fully vaccinated and:
  • have underlying chronic conditions
  • are aged 65 years and over.

Read more about:

• vaccination recommendations for people at greater risk of severe disease
• measures people can take to protect themselves.

People at greater risk of exposure

People may be more likely to be exposed to pertussis if they:

• are in a place where pertussis is circulating in the community
• live, work or go to school or childcare with somebody who has pertussis.

See what measures people can take to protect themselves.

Settings at increased risk of spread

Pertussis can spread quickly in homes and other settings, including:

• childcare centres
• schools
• healthcare facilities.

An outbreak of pertussis in these settings may require a public health response.

Prevention

Vaccination

Pertussis-containing vaccines have been shown to be highly effective for preventing severe disease in children and reducing the risk of symptomatic disease. But immunity wanes over time.

Routine vaccination is recommended for:

• infants
• children
• adolescents
• pregnant people.

Routine booster vaccination is recommended for adults who are in special risk groups or in contact with a special risk group, such as:

• healthcare workers
• early childhood educators and carers
• people in close contact with infants.

See the Australian Immunisation Handbook for more information, and who is eligible for free pertussis vaccination under the National Immunisation Program.

Other prevention steps

Other prevention measures include:

• hand hygiene
• respiratory hygiene
• avoiding contact with babies aged under 6 months and pregnant people when unwell
• keeping unwell children home from childcare or school
• seeking medical advice for illnesses with symptoms compatible with pertussis.

Prevention among priority populations

Vaccination in all recommended populations helps protect priority populations, including babies. This is due to both:

• community immunity
• transfer of pertussis antibodies through the placenta to the fetus during pregnancy and in breast milk.

Diagnosis and clinical management

Diagnosis

Pertussis is diagnosed through laboratory testing of nasopharyngeal swabs or aspirates. Throat swabs are sometimes used, although these are not as sensitive.

Samples are most often tested using nucleic acid testing (NAT) or culture.

After the fourth week of cough, testing is less likely to detect bacterial DNA in the nasopharynx. But NAT can be positive for 5 weeks or longer.

Pertussis can also be diagnosed using serological testing (via a blood test). Serology can be useful for illnesses present for more than 2 weeks but IgA and IgG may remain elevated for a long time after vaccination.

Laboratory case definition

Clinical management

Pertussis is treated with antibiotics. 

Treatment should be initiated as soon as possible. Early antibiotics can reduce the period of communicability.

Read more about the clinical management of pertussis.

Notification and reporting

Surveillance case definition

National notification and reporting

Confirmed and probable cases of pertussis are nationally notifiable in Australia. This means certain health professionals must report diagnoses through their relevant health authorities.

Check how to report laboratory-confirmed pertussis cases or related death in your state or territory:

• Australian Capital Territory
• New South Wales
• Northern Territory
• Queensland
• South Australia
• Tasmania
• Victoria
• Western Australia.

State and territory health authorities report new cases to us through the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System, as part of our surveillance activities.

We report case numbers and other data through our data visualisation tool, where you can filter and search the latest information. 

Public health response

National public health guidelines

Management of cases

Public health units investigate high-priority confirmed pertussis cases, including:

• children aged under 5 years
• cases who may have had close contact with infants aged under 6 months
• people in the last month of pregnancy.

Case management focuses on:

• identifying any contacts
• preventing transmission.

People with pertussis infection should:

• stay home and not attend work, school, preschool and childcare until they are no longer infectious
• avoid contact with priority populations while they are infectious.

Management of contacts

Public health units and medical professionals identify potential high-risk contacts, where possible to: 

• provide advice and public health education
• offer antibiotic prophylaxis, where appropriate.

Antibiotic prophylaxis may be offered to:

• infants aged under 6 months
• people who can transmit pertussis to infants.

Unvaccinated or incompletely vaccinated contacts should avoid childcare settings where there are children aged under 6 months until either:

• they have completed 5 days of appropriate antibiotic (if applicable)
• 14 days have passed since the first exposure to infectious case.

Outbreak response

Public health agencies responses to pertussis cases and outbreaks depends on: 

• state or territory legislation
• local reporting requirements
• the nature of the cases or outbreak
• available resources. 

Control measures used during outbreaks may include:

• monitoring people for symptoms where the outbreak is occurring
• promoting vaccination to people who live or work where the outbreak is occurring
• alerting healthcare professionals in the community
• temporarily closing an affected childcare facility
• issuing media alerts to the wider community.

Special situations and high-risk settings

Special situations and high-risk settings might require extra infection and control actions. These include cases in:

• early childhood education and care centres
• playgroups
• schools
• healthcare settings attended by pregnant people or neonates.

Resources

See the:

• CDNA national guidelines for public health units
• Australian Immunisation Handbook.