Whooping cough cases explode in Queensland

A concerning surge of whooping cough is gripping Queensland after the state recorded thousands of cases in the first months of 2025.

Queensland Health data revealed there have already been 2,384 cases of whooping cough which is nearly three-and-a-half times the 2020-24 average.

There were 15,012 whooping cough infections in Queensland in 2024, which was more than what was recorded in the previous 11 years combined.

Doctors have put the worrying figures down to a lack of immunisation since the Covid-19 pandemic and poor personal hygiene.

The disease is particularly dangerous for young children with one child dying from the infection last year. 

Mater Hospital Brisbane director of infectious diseases Professor Paul Griffin said infection rates during the past 12 months were very worrying.

'It is important people appreciate that the numbers are very high and higher than we'd normally see,' he said.

'Then if we add to that, a reduction in vaccination rates, that's certainly going to be a factor, and going to be contributing to the significance of those cases as well.

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