Medical authorities are concerned at a big increase in the number of whooping cough cases.

The National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System shows there have been 740 more cases in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year.

Also of concern is new research which indicates the waning potency of the whooping cough vaccine over time.

It’s recommended that people get a booster every 10 years but the chairman of the Immunisation Coalition Professor Robert Booy tells Mark people should get one every five years, especially if they spend time around babies.

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