The public needs to be made aware of the potentially deadly effects of whooping cough after two recent deaths from the condition, says a public health expert.

Babies in New Zealand can be jabbed - for free - against whooping cough as part of childhood immunisations, with booster doses given to children aged 4 and 11.

Dr Nikki Turner is the medical director of the University of Auckland's Immunisation Advisory Centre.

She says a rise in case numbers is more likely in areas like south Auckland where there were low vaccination rates.

Figures from the Ministry of Health for between October 1 and December 31, 2022, show 67.9 per ent of children in Counties Manukau were fully vaccinated at 6 months old.

In comparison, there were 74.3 per cent of children in Auckland, 71.6 per cent in Waitemata and 68.7 per cent nationwide.

'We are expecting this to be the beginning of the next epidemic of whooping cough which we see every three to five years,” says Turner.

'We can't stop it from spreading through the community, but we can protect our young infants.”

Turner says young children are most at risk.

'The key way we can protect them is to ensure mums are vaccinated and infants get their first immunisations at 6 weeks, 3 months and 5 months.”

In January she said vaccination rates in areas like south Auckland were in a state of crisis as healthcare providers were stuck in a post-Covid-19 catch-up phase.

A nationwide outbreak of whooping cough in 2017 saw more than 1300 cases.

Dr Nikki Turner is the medical director of the University of Auckland's Immunisation Advisory Centre and says a rise in case numbers is likely in areas like south Auckland where there are lower vaccination rates for young children.

According to the Ministry of Health, whooping cough (pertussis) is a highly infectious disease that is spread through coughing and sneezing. It is a serious condition that leads to prolonged coughing and can be life-threatening.

Symptoms usually appear a week after a person becomes infected and include a blocked or runny nose, sneezing, mild fever and persistent coughing. It is treated with antibiotics.

The condition gets its name from the whooping sound people make gasping for air between coughing.

Babies who catch it may have trouble breathing, feeding and may need hospital care. The condition can also lead to serious complications such as pneumonia and brain damage.

Turuki Healthcare CEO Te Puea Winiata says getting the child vaccination rates up in Counties Manukau is more important than ever.

'The big thing we need to get our heads around is immunising our children in the under five age group,” she says.

'But we can only do that as fast as whānau are willing to engage around immunisation. No matter how we try to get around it. It's like with the Covid-19 vaccination programme, our people came to us when they were ready.”

But Winiata says it's already working on ways it can proactively engage with families about getting their children immunised.

-Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air.