Whooping cough (pertussis)

Key facts

  • Whooping cough (pertussis) is a bacterial infection that irritates the airways, making them sore or painful and causing sudden, long coughing fits. These fits can be very severe.

  • In Australia, all infants and young children are recommended to be vaccinated against whooping cough. To keep this level of protection for adolescents, a booster dose is recommended for all 12- and 13-year-olds.

Last updated on 13 August 2025.

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When to vaccinate against whooping cough

It is recommended that your adolescent receives a booster vaccination against whooping cough at 12–13 years of age.


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What is whooping cough (pertussis)?

‘Whooping cough’ is the common term for pertussis. This germ (bacteria) irritates the airways, making them sore or painful. The bacteria spread very easily from one person to another through the air and can quickly infect people who live together.1 When someone who already has the disease coughs or sneezes, the pertussis germs float through the air in tiny droplets. If a person breathes in those droplets, they can catch whooping cough.

Whooping cough causes sudden, long coughing fits that can be very severe.

What will happen to my adolescent if they catch whooping cough?

Usual symptoms

  • Runny nose, congestion and a low-grade fever are common in the early stages.
  • Whooping cough causes a cough that can last for up to three months.1
  • The sudden, severe and prolonged coughing fits can cause vomiting.
  • Coughing fits may end with a high-pitched ‘whoop’ sound when the person breathes in.
     

Rare symptoms

  • People with whooping cough can experience poor sleep (sleep disturbance), loss of bladder control (incontinence), fainting and broken ribs from the severe coughing fits.2

If your adolescent is tested and diagnosed with whooping cough, your local state or territory Public Health Unit (PHU) will be notified. The PHU will provide advice on how to stop the spread of infection to other family members and the wider community. This may include staying home from school or work and wearing masks.

Which vaccine will protect my adolescent against whooping cough?

In Australia, adolescents receive a combined vaccine (dTpa) that strengthens immunity to whooping cough as well as diphtheria and tetanus.

This vaccine is also offered to infants, small children and pregnant adults.

When should my adolescent be vaccinated?

Adolescents are recommended to get a booster dose of a vaccine that protects against whooping cough at 12–13 years of age (year 7 or equivalent). This booster extends the protective level of whooping cough immunity into the adult years.

This dose is usually given for free at school. 

Your adolescent can also receive this routine vaccine through a clinic visit with other immunisation providers. This visit may incur a fee.

Even if your adolescent is mildly unwell on the day of their appointment (this means no fever and a temperature under 38.5°C), they can still receive the vaccine.

How does the whooping cough vaccine work?

The vaccine works by ‘training’ your adolescent’s immune system to recognise and get rid of the pertussis (whooping cough) bacteria and its toxin. The vaccine contains antigens, which are tiny, harmless fragments of pertussis toxin. When your adolescent’s immune system detects the antigens in the vaccine, it produces antibodies. These antibodies are like soldiers that recognise and remember the pertussis toxin. If your adolescent is ever exposed to the real pertussis bacteria and its toxin, their immune system will recognise it quickly and fight it off using the antibodies it created after vaccination.3

The whooping cough vaccine does not contain any blood products and is not a ‘live’ vaccine. The antigens are made synthetically. They cannot replicate themselves or cause disease.

How effective is the whooping cough vaccine?

Research shows that the whooping cough vaccine ‘booster’ is effective (78–84%) in protecting adolescents from pertussis bacteria.4 

To maintain their protection against whooping cough, your adolescent may need further boosters as an adult.1

Will my adolescent catch whooping cough from the vaccine?

No, there is no risk your adolescent will catch whooping cough, because the vaccine does not contain the live bacteria that cause the disease.

What are the common reactions to the vaccine?
  • Up to 77% of adolescents who get a booster dose of a vaccine that protects against pertussis (whooping cough), diphtheria and tetanus can experience mild discomfort or pain where the injection was given. This can last for one or two days after receiving the vaccine.5
  • Less than 3% of adolescents who get a booster dose of a vaccine that protects against whooping cough, diphtheria and tetanus experience a high temperature or fever.5
Are there any rare and/or serious side effects to the vaccine?
  • Less than 2% of adolescents can experience a large amount (extensive) of limb or arm swelling after receiving booster doses of a vaccine that protects against whooping cough. This reaction usually happens within 48 hours of vaccination, lasts for 1–7 days and then resolves completely.6
  • The vaccine for whooping cough is a combination vaccine, that also protects against tetanus. Up to 0.0005–0.001% of tetanus toxoid-containing vaccine doses given (or 0.5–1 in 100,000 doses given) in adults are linked to a swelling or inflammation of a nerve in the arm (brachial neuritis), which causes weakness or numbness.7,8 The seriousness of this reaction varies on a case-by-case basis.
  • About 0.0001% (1 in 1,000,000) of people have an allergic reaction following vaccination that affects their whole body. This is called anaphylaxis. This reaction usually happens within 15 minutes of receiving a vaccine. It can be treated with an injection of adrenaline. People who have this reaction usually recover quickly and don’t experience any long-term effects.9

If your adolescent doesn’t seem to be getting better or you are worried about them, you can get help:

  • from your doctor
  • at your nearest emergency department
  • by calling Healthdirect on 1800 022 222.
What impact has vaccination had on the spread of whooping cough?

Although whooping cough outbreaks have occurred in Australia in recent years, the disease is much less common than before vaccination programs began. Whooping cough rates in babies who are too young to be vaccinated have reduced dramatically through community vaccination.10,11,12

Graph: Pertussis prevelance

Sources: (i) Chiu C, Dey A, Wang H et al. Vaccine preventable diseases in Australia, 2005 to 2007. Communicable Diseases Intelligence 2010; 34;supplement:S1-167; (ii) Updated with data from NNDSS Annual Report Writing Group. Australia’s notifiable disease status, 2010: annual report of the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System. Communicable Diseases Intelligence 2012; 36:1-69

What if I still have questions?

You can read some answers to common questions here.

If you still have some questions about vaccinations for your adolescent, write them down and make an appointment with your nurse, your doctor or your health worker so you can ask them.

Please note: In SKAI Adolescent, the phrase ‘your adolescent’ refers to all guardian relationships where health decisions for an adolescent fall under your responsibility.

Drafts of this page were reviewed by members of our Consumer Advisory Group.


  1. Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation. Pertussis (whooping cough). Australian Immunisation Handbook, Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care, Canberra, 2024. Available from: https://immunisationhandbook.health.gov.au/contents/vaccine-preventable-diseases/pertussis-whooping-cough
  2. De Serres G, Shadmani R, Duval B et al. Morbidity of pertussis in adolescents and adults. Journal of Infectious Diseases 2000;182:174-9
  3. Australian Academy of Science. The science of immunisation: questions and answers. 2021. Available from https://www.science.org.au/education/immunisation-climate-change-genetic-modification/science-immunisation
  4. Rank C, Quinn HE, McIntyre PB. Pertussis vaccine effectiveness after mass immunization of high school students in Australia. Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal2009;28:152-3
  5. Pichichero ME, Rennels MB, Edwards KM et al. Combined tetanus, diphtheria, and 5-component pertussis vaccine for use in adolescents and adults. JAMA 2005;293:3003-11. Erratum appears in JAMA 2005;294:3092
  6. Mertsola J, Van Der Meeren O, He Q et al. Decennial administration of a reduced antigen content diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and acellular pertussis vaccine in young adults. Clinical Infectious Diseases 2010;51:656-62
  7. Hamati-Haddad A, Fenichel GM. Brachial neuritis following routine childhood immunization for diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTP): report of two cases and review of the literature. Pediatrics 199799:602-3
  8. Stratton KR, Howe CJ, Johnston RB, Jr., eds. Adverse events associated with childhood vaccines: evidence bearing on causality. Institute of Medicine. Washington DC: National Academy Press; 1994
  9. McNeil MM, Weintraub ES, Duffy J et al., Risk of anaphylaxis after vaccination in children and adults. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology 2016;137: 868-78
  10. Marshall KS, Quinn HE, Pillsbury AJ et al. Australian vaccine preventable disease epidemiological review series: pertussis, 2013–2018. Communicable Diseases Intelligence 2022;46
  11. Chiu C, Dey A, Wang H et al. Vaccine preventable diseases in Australia, 2005 to 2007. Communicable Diseases Intelligence 2010; 34;supplement:S1-167.
  12. Updated with data from NNDSS Annual Report Writing Group. Australia’s notifiable disease status, 2010: annual report of the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System. Communicable Diseases Intelligence 2012; 36:1-69