The disease poses a serious threat to young children, with one child dying from the infection last year.

Professor Paul Griffin, Director of Infectious Diseases at Mater Hospital Brisbane, expressed concern over the growing numbers.

“These are significantly higher figures than we’d normally expect,” he said. “A drop in vaccination rates is undoubtedly a contributing factor. We know the disease is much more severe in unvaccinated individuals.”

According to Queensland Health, only 90.8% of one-year-olds were vaccinated against whooping cough in 2024, down from 94.4% in 2018. Vaccination rates among pregnant women also declined—from about 77% in 2020 to 70% in 2023. Read more below