western australia

Whooping cough on the rise again

@JudyEv (381760)

Rockingham, Australia

December 4, 2024 6:10pm CST

Hitting our news headlines today is the fact that whooping cough numbers are reaching epidemic proportions. I know there are arguments against vaccinations but when a disease is seen very rarely, if at all, it’s easy for new parents to be become a bit ambivalent about whether to have their child immunised or not. In the case of whooping cough, there have been almost three times more cases in October compared to all of last year. In South Australia, the number is 13 times higher than in 2023. While it’s of particular concern in babies, it’s not uncommon in other age brackets. Immunisation is free for babies and pregnant women. There is also a schools-based vaccination program. I remember seeing a headstone in our hometown cemetery, stating a young boy had died from whooping cough. He would have been the same age as my sister and the mother was a friend of my mother’s. Vaccination programs at the time must have been seen as a life-saver. The photo is of a Nuytsia floribunda, common name Christmas tree.

21 people like this

19 responses

@wolfgirl569 (135583)

• Marion, Ohio

5 Dec 24

Its sad when people don't get kids vaccinated and then the kids get very sick.

5 people like this

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@wolfgirl569 (135583)

• Marion, Ohio

8 Dec 24

@JudyEv Too many people listen to the crap that goes around on social media and don't check with the experts

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (381760)

• Rockingham, Australia

9 Dec 24

@wolfgirl569 They don't trust the experts but are very quick to believe the most outlandish ideas.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (381760)

• Rockingham, Australia

8 Dec 24

It's very sad indeed. I don't really understand how they can be so short-sighted.

2 people like this

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@AmbiePam (120533)

• United States

5 Dec 24

It is annoying when people don’t keep things like this from happening. Like what is happening with an increase in measles.

4 people like this

@JudyEv (381760)

• Rockingham, Australia

8 Dec 24

They don't realise just how bad these diseases can be.

2 people like this

@rebelann (117199)

• El Paso, Texas

5 Dec 24

What a beautiful tree. Yeah, I've read online that whooping cough is on the rise so I'm guessing is isn't just in Australia. I can't recall if I've ever known anyone to have it but my mom considered any cough we'd get as whooping cough but I'll be it wasn't

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@rebelann (117199)

• El Paso, Texas

8 Dec 24

I can't recall my parents talking about diseases perhaps they did in private when us kids weren't around

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (381760)

• Rockingham, Australia

9 Dec 24

@rebelann I remember being taken out of school because they thought my brother had polio. It turned out a very mild case but my aunt was confined to a wheelchair around that time through contracting polio.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (381760)

• Rockingham, Australia

8 Dec 24

Whooping cough, polio, tuberculosis - these all scared my parents and their peers very much.

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@FourWalls (86575)

• United States

5 Dec 24

I don’t know what has turned people against vaccinations. I mean, we have four generations of people vaccinated against things who are alive and well and NOT programmed to do the government’s bidding (one of the conspiracy theories about the covid vaccine in America), so why all of the sudden are vaccines considered the mark of the antichrist? It really doesn’t make sense to me. What’s scarier is that diseases that we had seemingly eradicated because of “everyone” being vaccinated are suddenly making nasty, deadly comebacks. (Meaning, the germs are “out there,” but everyone had been vaccinated against them…until now.)

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@FourWalls (86575)

• United States

8 Dec 24

@JudyEv — I have some vaccinations I will not take, but I have a “legitimate” reason. No flu shot because I’m allergic to eggs; and no shingles vaccine because I’ve never had chicken pox so it’s not necessary.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (381760)

• Rockingham, Australia

8 Dec 24

That's so true. Leprosy was all but eliminated too but now more and more cases are being recorded. I really don't understand how some people's minds work.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (381760)

• Rockingham, Australia

9 Dec 24

@FourWalls I'm sure there are a lot of instances where innoculation should be avoided. But in general they are helpful in preventing the spread of disease.

1 person likes this

@KristenH (33591)

• Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio

5 Dec 24

Love the photo. Oh my. Hope everyone gets a vaccination soon.

2 people like this

@JudyEv (381760)

• Rockingham, Australia

8 Dec 24

Young people have never witnessed these terrible diseases and don't know the risks they're taking.

Anindita Sengupta

@aninditasen (18198)

• Raurkela, India

5 Dec 24

In India we too have vaccine for whooping cough. It's more common in cold places.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (381760)

• Rockingham, Australia

8 Dec 24

It is an awful disease. Children and adults should really be vaccinated against it.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (381760)

• Rockingham, Australia

10 Dec 24

@aninditasen That's interesting.

1 person likes this

Anindita Sengupta

@aninditasen (18198)

• Raurkela, India

9 Dec 24

@JudyEv Yes, they should. Regular intake of basil leaves and honey can prevent this disease.

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@snowy22315 (208746)

• United States

5 Dec 24

I feel sorry for the kids..whos parents who have that kind of attitude. Paranoid and stubborn people shouldn't be running the show.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (381760)

• Rockingham, Australia

8 Dec 24

Some are very anti-vaccinations. They might change their minds if their kids get one of these conditions.

1 person likes this

@snowy22315 (208746)

• United States

8 Dec 24

@JudyEv If they got prosecuted for chid neglect, that would change their tunes!

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (381760)

• Rockingham, Australia

8 Dec 24

@snowy22315 It would be all out war with the anti-vaccers if they prosecuted. Freedom of choice and all that stuff.

@allknowing (153544)

• India

5 Dec 24

Could it be a gift from Covid?

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (381760)

• Rockingham, Australia

8 Dec 24

I can't see why it would be a gift from Covid.

1 person likes this

changjiangzhibin89

@changjiangzhibin89 (17239)

• China

5 Dec 24

Now that the Immunisation is free for babies ,the new parents should get their children immunised ! The Nuytsia floribunda is a sort of hemiparasitic plant.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (381760)

• Rockingham, Australia

8 Dec 24

It seems very remiss of parents not to have their children innoculated when it doesn't cost them anything. Yes, the Christmas tree is hemiparasitic. There are dozens blooming now.

1 person likes this

@RebeccasFarm (91299)

• United States

7 Dec 24

And walking pnuemonia among other things here. The invaders bringing new diseases too Judy.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (381760)

• Rockingham, Australia

8 Dec 24

I've never heard of walking pneumonia. Vince has had pneumonia three times but we've now been vaccinated against it.

@rakski (156200)

• Philippines

5 Dec 24

oh no. That is so unsettling to see whooping cough making such a strong resurgence, especially when they were nearly eradicated in the past due to vaccination programs. I hope parents will have their kids vaccinated

1 person likes this

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@rakski (156200)

• Philippines

8 Dec 24

@JudyEv that is so true. This can be prevented

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (381760)

• Rockingham, Australia

8 Dec 24

It's annoying tot hink they get so close to eradicating these diseases then there is a resurgence of cases.

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@RasmaSandra (97912)

• Daytona Beach, Florida

5 Dec 24

That is not good at all, Lucky I never had this, I had all the others like mumps and measles,

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (381760)

• Rockingham, Australia

8 Dec 24

I believe some would have chickenpox parties so that all the kids would get it then be immune from getting it again.

1 person likes this

@Fleura (34927)

• United Kingdom

7 Dec 24

It's the same here.Vaccination has been so successful that people have forgotten that diseases like whooping cough and measles can be deadly. I guess a spate of resulting deaths and disabilities will bring the truth home again.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (381760)

• Rockingham, Australia

8 Dec 24

That's exactly right. People never seem to learn much from the past.

1 person likes this

@LindaOHio (222222)

• United States

5 Dec 24

There are several diseases that are making a comeback because parents won't vaccinate. It's a pity. Have a good day.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (381760)

• Rockingham, Australia

8 Dec 24

It is a great pity indeed that people won't get their children vaccinated.

1 person likes this

@vandana7 (102698)

• India

5 Dec 24

I agree with you that vaccinations are life savers....whatever are the arguments against vaccinations, when it comes to life, taking risks is permitted only to self, not to others, not even to own children. Since children and babies do not understand the implications, we have no right to take a decision against vaccination when it has proved to be beneficial in the past.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (381760)

• Rockingham, Australia

8 Dec 24

That's so true. These vaccinations are free here so the responsible thing to do is to innoculate children against these diseases.

1 person likes this

@jstory07 (148720)

• Roseburg, Oregon

5 Dec 24

Vacines save lifes . I can not understand why anyone would not want to have them for themselves and their children.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (381760)

• Rockingham, Australia

8 Dec 24

Very occasionally there is a bad reaction to a vaccination but it's very rare.

1 person likes this

@amnabas (14877)

• Karachi, Pakistan

5 Dec 24

Frightening to see the rise in cases.Kids should be vaccinated on time.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (381760)

• Rockingham, Australia

8 Dec 24

Young parents forget how deadly some of these diseases can be.

@noni1959 (13009)

• United States

5 Dec 24

It's scary to know many cases are coming back. Vaccinations for whooping cough is important and the more people begin to refuse those and other like MMR, tetanus, polio, etc., we will go backwards horribly. The Nuytsia floribunda is beautiful.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (381760)

• Rockingham, Australia

8 Dec 24

I agree completely with what you're saying. These are terrible diseases and not to be taken lightly.

@Beestring (15373)

• Hong Kong

5 Dec 24

Nice photo. Kids should get vaccinated asap.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (381760)

• Rockingham, Australia

8 Dec 24

I agree. Vaccinations are free here but who would you not want to proect your children?