# Parents Outraged For Not Being Warned About Whooping Cough Outbreak In Cairns

- Link: https://stayathomemum.com.au/family/parenting/parents-outraged-for-not-being-warned-about-whooping-cough-outbreak-in-cairns/
- Published: 2017-05-24T14:18:22+10:00
- Author: Clare Whitfield

## _Parents of children who have contracted whooping cough were outraged for not being warned about an outbreak of the highly infectious disease in a Cairns suburb._

Three people have been confirmed with whooping cough at Gordonvale, including two
students of Gordonvale State School, who became infected several weeks ago, and 
are now recovering at home.

However, the school only�told�its community about one of the cases in its latest
newsletter yesterday.

![Young girl with fever lying in bed covering her nose feeling unwell](https://i0.
wp.com/stayathomemum.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/child-coughing-in-bed.jpg?
resize=500%2C334&quality=89&ssl=1 "Feverish Child Resting in Bed")

via biorevive.com

The two students were vaccinated against the airborne bacterial disease�during their
early ages.

Mum Rebecca Buhagiar’s seven-year-old daughter was confirmed with the disease about
three weeks ago. She said that she alerted the school soon after her daughter�was
diagnosed with the disease.

> “My daughter had gone to school for two days and then she was too sick so I didn’t
> want to send her back.
> “Once there was a positive reading, I rang (the school) so they could notify other
> parents and teachers and whatnot.
> “They told me they don’t notify anyone until they get notified by Queensland Health.
> I was quite shocked about that,” she said.

[⌊Mother and daughter watching tv concerned about health issues⌉⌊Mother and daughter watching tv concerned about health issues⌉ ](https://i0.wp.com/stayathomemum.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/whoop.jpg?quality=89&ssl=1)

Several weeks later,�Jennifer Deen’s eight-year-old stepdaughter, Annabell, was 
also struck down with whooping cough.

Mrs Deen said she was surprised that there was no warning about the disease through
the school or by anyone else.�”It seems the departments of health and education 
don’t really care,” she said.

Cairns Tropical Public Health Services director Dr Richard Gair said information
about whooping cough had been sent out to the school and a letter was provided for
distribution to families.�However, he said that national guidelines for responding
to a whooping cough case did not focus on a community-wide response.

A Department of Education and Training spokesman said that the principal of Gordonvale
State advised parents and carers yesterday about a confirmed case of whooping cough.

There have been 45 cases of whooping cough or pertussis in the Cairns health district
since January this year, compared to a yearly average of 86 cases.

Source:�[Kidspot.com.au](http://www.kidspot.com.au/parenting/real-life/in-the-news/parents-furious-after-not-being-warned-about-whooping-cough-outbreak)

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 Clare Whitfield Chief Editor

 Clare Whitfield is the Editor of Stay at Home Mum and a recognised voice in practical
home management for Australian families. Based in the northern suburbs of Sydney,
she balances editorial leadership with life as a stay at home mum to two school 
age children. Her background in home economics and more than a decade of experience
in recipe development, family budgeting, and household systems inform her work.

 [See Full Bio](https://stayathomemum.com.au/author/clare_whitfield/) [  ](https://stayathomemum.com.au/author/clare_whitfield/)