text: A health expert has slammed parents for not taking vaccination seriously after 19 children attending a primary school in north Brisbane contracted the potentially deadly disease whooping cough. Kilcoy State School is working with Queensland Health after a whooping cough outbreak in the area, but parents have been urged to take vaccination more seriously there. The Sunshine Coast Daily reports that infectious diseases expert Professor Matthew Cooper, a professorial research fellow at the University of Queensland's Institute for Molecular Bioscience, attributed the outbreak to an anti-vaccination trend. Parents have been accused of not taking vaccination seriously after 19 children attending a primary school in north Brisbane contracted whooping cough . 'It's unfortunately just part of a growing trend that many people have decided not to immunise,' he said. 'We've seen this with other diseases that are more serious than pertussis but unfortunately the more people who choose not to immunise the more likely it is we'll get outbreaks.' Although immunisation rates in Queensland have dropped across most age groups there since 2010, in 2014 the Metro North region had the highest immunisation rate in the state. Kilcoy State School (pictured) in north Brisbane is working with Queensland Health after a whooping cough outbreak in the area . There are about 1200 cases of whooping cough every year in the Metro North area. This region covers the Brisbane River to past Caboolture. in total there have been 86 confirmed cases in 2015 - alarmingly 16 in the past week - compared to 113 last year. Statewide, 232 cases have been reported. Parents were urged to take children with any symptoms to their family doctor . Dr Cooper said it was essential to convince parents of the importance of vaccination. He said if vaccination rates continued to fall there could be an increase in unfortunate and preventable deaths. Parents were urged parents to take children with any symptoms to their family doctor, and for children who tested positive to stay away from school for five days.
target: Kilcoy State School working with Queensland Health to improve situation .
  Professor Matthew Cooper urges parents to take vaccination seriously .
  The Infectious diseases expert says 'people have decided not to immunise'
  There have been 86 confirmed cases in 2015 in area - 16 in the past week .
  Dr Cooper says parents must know the importance of vaccination .