SYDNEY, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Authorities in the Australian state of Queensland have issued an urgent health warning over a rise in whooping cough cases.

Queensland Health on Thursday urged all pregnant people to protect themselves and their unborn baby from pertussis - commonly known as whooping cough - by having a free vaccination.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported there have been 21,336 confirmed cases of whooping cough in Australia in 2024 - up from 2,451 in 2023 and the highest number since 2015 when 22,571 cases were recorded across the whole year.

Shannon Fentiman, Queensland's minister for health, said there were 7,010 whooping cough cases reported in the state from January 1 to August 11 compared to 104 cases in the same period 2023.

Whooping cough is a highly contagious respiratory tract infection that is particularly dangerous for infants and can be deadly in rare cases.

"Whooping cases are soaring across the country, posing a serious threat to our youngest and most vulnerable Queenslanders," Fentiman said in a statement.

She said immunization between weeks 20 and 32 of every pregnancy offers crucial protection to newborn babies before they can be vaccinated themselves.

Under the federal government's national immunization program, the whooping cough vaccine is free for all pregnant women, adolescents aged 12-13 and children aged two months, four months, six months, 18 months and four years.

According to Queensland Health data, the whooping cough vaccination rate for pregnant women in the state has fallen from 77.2 percent in 2020 to 70.7 percent in 2023.

John Gerrard, Queensland's chief health officer, said vaccinating pregnant women reduces the risk of a baby contracting whooping cough by 75 percent. Enditem

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