Whooping cough: An urgent call for greater immunisation uptake

GPs and health practitioners have issued an urgent warning to parents to vaccinate their children, after a huge spike in the number of cases of whooping cough in the UK in recent months.

In the first quarter of the year, there were five cases of infant deaths from the illness with high rates of whooping cough among babies aged under 3 months. However, just over half of cases were in those aged 15 years or older (UKHSA, 2024a).

Figures for the last few weeks up to May outstripped the total for the whole of last year, with Nottingham and Bristol among the worst affected areas in the UK. In extreme cases whooping cough can lead to pneumonia or brain damage. A sick baby will need hospital treatment but even then, there is a danger whooping cough could prove fatal.

According to figures from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), published in May, the number of cases is continuing to grow, with more than 1 300 confirmed in March alone. This came after 556 cases in January and 918 in February (UKHSA, 2024a).