News from NZ shows that children who have been vaccinated against whooping cough are still catching the disease.
Latest figures show the pertussis, or whooping cough, outbreak in Canterbury is still in full swing, with the region having the highest number of cases in the country in the first two weeks of April 2012.
There have been 1258 pertussis notifications reported throughout the country this year, compared with 198 for the same time last year. The lower North Island and the South Island are taking the brunt of the outbreak.
Canterbury District Health Board medical officer of surveillance Peter Mitchell said Canterbury was “experiencing a pertussis epidemic”.
Shirley First Learners team leader Martina Ewing said there had been three confirmed whooping cough cases at the childcare centre.
The children who had contracted whooping cough had been vaccinated, she said.