New Zealand reports a nearly 1000% increase in pertussis in 2024
During the week ending December 7, the Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR) reported 161 pertussis, or whooping cough cases (including confirmed, probable, and suspected cases), up from 157 cases reported the week prior.
ESR noted that from November 9 to December 6, 2024, New Zealand reported 487 pertussis cases, reflecting a significant increase compared to the previous four-week period.
Since the beginning of the year, New Zealand officials have recorded 1,490 total pertussis cases. This is a 957 percent increase compared to the total number of cases reported in all of 2023 (141).
In 2022, 18 cases were reported, while 41 cases were reported across the country in 2021.
The age group most affected is 5 to 14 years (512).
129 of the 1490 total cases required hospitalization for their illness. Infants under one-year-old remain the most affected group (55), with the majority of hospitalized infants having not received all age-appropriate vaccine doses.
At the end of November, the National Public Health Service (NPHS) and the Public Health Agency declared a national epidemic of pertussis.
Epidemics of pertussis typically occur every 3-5 years and usually last for 12-18 months, with the last national outbreak in New Zealand beginning in late 2017 and continuing through 2018.