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Asthma is among the commonest noncommunicable diseases of childhood and often occurs with other atopic comorbidities. A previous case-control study found evidence that compared to children who received acellular pertussis (aP) vaccines in early infancy, children who received one or more doses of whole-cell pertussis (wP) vaccine had lower risk of developing IgE-mediated food allergy. We hypothesized that wP vaccination in early infancy might protect against atopic asthma in childhood. 

Pregnancy and early infancy are increased risk periods for severe adverse effects of respiratory infections. Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander (respectfully referred to as First Nations) women and children in Australia bear a disproportionately higher burden of respiratory diseases compared to non-Indigenous women and infants. Influenza vaccines and whooping cough (pertussis) vaccines are recommended and free in every Australian pregnancy to combat these infections.

Vaccination is the injection of an inactivated bacteria or virus into the body. This simulated infection allows an individual's immune system to develop an adaptive immunity for protection against that type of illness. When a sufficiently large percentage of a population has been vaccinated, this results in herd immunity.

Antenatal inactivated influenza and pertussis-containing vaccines offer protection against severe respiratory infections for pregnant women and infants <6 months of age. Both vaccines are recommended in pregnancy; however, little is known about temporal or jurisdictional trends and predictors of uptake.

Governments should rethink strategies to prevent whooping cough in newborn infants, including booster vaccination of close contacts of the baby.

Toddlers will now get an additional whooping cough vaccine to protect them against the potentially deadly disease.

An extra whooping cough vaccination for babies comes as a result of work by researchers at the Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases.

New collaborative research involving almost 600,000 pregnant mothers has demonstrated a dramatic increase in uptake of the whooping cough (pertussis) vaccine after identifying just 22 per cent of WA women had the maternal vaccination between 2012 – 2017.

Immunisation is the most effective way of protecting your child against a range of serious illnesses, including measles, hepatitis B and whooping cough. All vaccines used in Australia undergo stringent testing and ongoing monitoring.

Whooping cough (pertussis) is a highly contagious respiratory infection which causes a severe cough and can be particularly dangerous to babies under a year old. Vaccination is the best way to reduce the risk of whooping cough.