New data published by the UK Health Security Agency shows cases of whooping cough continue to increase with 2,591 cases confirmed in May.
Young babies are at highest risk of severe complications and, sadly, there have been 9 infant deaths since the current outbreak began in November last year.
Timely vaccination in pregnancy and in childhood are both important to protect vulnerable children from serious disease, with evidence from England showing that vaccination at the right time in pregnancy is highly effective.
Vaccination is the best defence against whooping cough which is why it’s so important that mums to be and children receive their vaccines at the right time.
NHS South West London Chief Nursing Officer Elaine Clancy
Babies are most vulnerable before but they start their routine childhood immunisation schedule. By vaccinating pregnant women, the protection from the vaccine will pass to the baby providing protection for them until they are old enough to be routinely vaccinated against whopping cough at 8 weeks old.
The latest uptake data, also published by UKHSA for the vaccination offered to pregnant women continues to decline – with coverage in March 2024 at 58.9% compared to the peak coverage (72.6%) in March 2017.
Elaine Clancy, Chief Nursing Officer for the NHS in south west London said: “Vaccination is the best defence against whooping cough which is why it’s so important that mums to be and children receive their vaccines at the right time.
“Whooping cough vaccines are offered during every pregnancy, helping to ensure babies are protected for the first months of their life when they are most vulnerable and before they can receive their own vaccines.
“I would urge pregnant women to get vaccinated to help protect their babies – you can speak with your GP or maternity team if you have any questions about the vaccine.”
Whooping cough, clinically known as pertussis, is a bacterial infection which affects the lungs.
The first signs of infection are similar to a cold, such as a runny nose and sore throat, but after about a week, the infection can develop into coughing bouts that last for a few minutes and are typically worse at night.
Young babies may also make a distinctive ‘whoop’ or have difficulty breathing after a bout of coughing, though not all babies make this noise which means whooping cough can be hard to recognise.
If anyone in your family is diagnosed with whooping cough, it’s important they stay at home and do not go into work, school or nursery until 48 hours after starting antibiotics, or 2 weeks after symptoms start if they have not had antibiotics. This helps to prevent the spread of infection, especially to vulnerable groups, including infants. However, vaccination remains the best protection for babies and children.
Further information:
- Whooping cough cases have been rising across England, as well as in many other countries, since December 2023 due to a combination of factors. Whooping cough is a cyclical disease that peaks every 3 to 5 years. The last cyclical increase occurred in 2016. However, in common with other diseases, cases fell to very low numbers during the pandemic due to restrictions and public behaviours.
- A peak year is overdue and the impact of the pandemic also means there is reduced immunity in the population.
- There were 555 cases in January 2024, 920 in February, 1,427 in March and 2,106 in April – bringing the total number of cases from January to May 2024 to 7,599.
- All babies are given three doses of the 6-in-1 jab at 8, 12 and 16 weeks of age to protect against whooping cough and other serious diseases such as diphtheria and polio, with a pre-school booster offered at 3 years 4 months.
- From January to May 2024, around half of cases (53.4%, 4,057) were in those aged 15 years or older who usually get a mild illness, high numbers (262) continue to be reported in babies under 3 months of age who are at greatest risk from the infection.