Pertussis case surge ‘a very big concern’

As cases of whooping cough reach their highest levels in Australia in 35 years, the Federal Health Minister admits ‘we have a big job ahead of us’ in reining in the numbers.
 
Australia recorded 82,530 pertussis cases during 2024 and 2025 – the highest number since monitoring began in 1991.
 
RACGP President Dr Michael Wright and Federal Health and Ageing Minister Mark Butler have now both expressed deep concerns over the surge in the potentially fatal infection, and the global increase in broader vaccine hesitancy.
 
In 2024 alone there were 57,257 pertussis cases reported in Australia, with children aged up to 14 years the most affected cohort, accounting for 37,663 cases.
 
Across all state and territories, New South Wales and Queensland recorded the most cases, at 25,901 and 15,028 cases respectively.
 
In 2026, there have been around 1300 cases confirmed nationally to date, with almost half in children aged up to 14, and most cases again coming from NSW.
 
In response, Minister Butler said childhood immunisation rates have fallen not just in Australia, but ‘right across the world’.
 
‘We know worldwide there has been a … material uptick in vaccine hesitancy, particularly through COVID and after COVID,’ he said.
 
‘We’re thinking very carefully about our childhood immunisation campaigns to make sure that the messages are fresh and compelling for parents.’
 
Dr Wright said vaccine scepticism is ‘something that we deal with in general practice every day’. 
 
‘There’s a lot of information that comes on social media, there’s a lot of international information as well,’ he said.
 
‘It’s really important that, as GPs, we can help people work through that to understand what’s relevant, what’s real, and encourage them to continue with their vaccinations.
 
‘What we’ve got to deal with is getting as many patients as possible to get immunised against whooping cough so that they’re protected.’
 
Data shows immunisation rates among both younger and older people have fallen.
 
Australia’s 2024–25 childhood immunisation rates were the lowest in 10 years, and only about one in five adults aged 50 or older are up to date with their whooping cough vaccinations.
 
Dr Wright said there is ‘real concern that people aren’t as confident in getting vaccines as they used to be’.
 
‘It’s something that, as a community but also as individual health professionals, we’re really taking seriously, to try and encourage our patients to get on board and get vaccinated,’ he said.
 
Minister Butler said pregnant women are also a cohort of concern.
 
He said although ‘we don’t have great statistics’, data still shows a ‘substantial’ decline of about 10% in uptake of the free pertussis vaccination that is recommended to pregnant women.
 
‘This is a very big concern,’ he said. ‘I’m not going to say whether or not those vaccination rates have driven the size of the bump that we’ve seen in ‘24 and ‘25. But really, whether it has or not doesn’t change the fact that we have a big challenge ahead of us.’
 
When asked if pertussis vaccinations should be made free to older Australians, Mr Butler said if the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Council were to provide such advice, ‘of course we would follow it’.
 
‘We’re also thinking very carefully about the nature of the immunisation information campaign, to encourage older Australians to get their vaccines up to date as well,’ he said
 
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childhood vaccinations immunisation pertussis vaccine hesitancy whooping cough