WHOOPING cough might sound like a disease from the Victorian era, but the bacterial bug has made a dramatic comeback in recent months.
The ‘100-day cough’, as it’s also known, infects the lungs and breathing tubes, causing severe coughing fits and flu-like symptoms that, as the name suggests, can last for months.
In January and February alone, England recorded 1,468 cases, up 8,055 per cent from the 18 cases during the same period in 2023.
Suspected cases, reported by doctors in England and Wales each week, suggest infection rates are especially high in the South East (141) and London (113).
Babies under six months who catch the bug are at risk of serious complications, such as pneumonia, seizures and, in some cases, death.
This is because they are too young to be immunised with the existing vaccine.
Babies and young children who survive may have long-term neurological or lung damage.
Older children and adults can also get whooping cough – as neither vaccination nor infection provides lifelong immunity – and it is highly infectious.
Whooping cough, caused by the pertussis bacteria, naturally peaks every three to five years.
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A jab, which started to be given to children in the 1950s, helped almost eliminate the disease in Britain.
From 2012, a whooping cough jab was offered to pregnant women in the UK, in the hope a mother’s antibodies would pass to her baby in the womb, giving protection from birth.
“This has resulted in a decline in the incidence of whooping cough in infants aged under three months,” the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence notes.
Experts have warned that a steady drop in vaccine uptake and weakened immunity from the Covid restrictions have contributed to rapidly rising case numbers.
“During lockdown (when social distancing measures were in place) the number of infections went down, so people who may have caught it then are catching it now,” Prof Helen Bedford, an expert in child public health at University College London, told the Sun.
Adam Finn, a professor of paediatrics at the University of Bristol, agreed, adding the restrictions meant fewer whooping cough infections and, therefore, a smaller number of people with immunity.
“And that means that when an infection comes, it gets more opportunities to spread,” he told the Guardian.
“Another problem is that vaccination uptake is steadily declining in pregnant women,” Prof Helen added.
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In Britain, around 70 per cent of pregnant women were jabbed for pertussis in 2017.
That number dropped to around 58 per cent by 2023, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA)
Vaccine uptake in children has also fallen.
The whooping cough vaccine is given alongside five others to babies at eight, 12 and 16 weeks and as part of a four-in-one booster to preschool children aged three years and four months.
The number of two-year-olds who completed their six-in-one vaccinations as of September 2023 was 92.9 per cent, compared with 96.3 per cent in March 2014.
Prof Helen also points out the 2004 switch from a whole-cell to an acellular vaccine for whooping cough.
In the past, whooping cough vaccines were made using whole, inactivated Bordetella pertussis bacteria.
These vaccines were highly effective but had some adverse side effects, including fever and mild allergic reaction.
In a very small number of babies, neurological damage, however, there is debate over whether the jab was responsible.
Modern whooping cough jabs are made from purified and detoxified parts of the bacteria.
“The newer vaccine is highly effective, but the duration of protection is shorter (than that old jab),” Prof Helen said.
Has my child been jabbed?
Experts say it is vital for pregnant women to get vaccinated and ensure their babies and young children receive the vaccine.
Dr Gayatri Amirthalingam, UKHSA consultant epidemiologist said added: “Vaccinating pregnant women is highly effective in protecting babies from birth until they can receive their own vaccines.
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“Parents can also help protect their children by ensuring they receive their vaccines at the right time or catching up as soon as possible if they have missed any.
“If you’re unsure, please check your child’s red book or get in touch with your GP surgery.”
Steve Russell, national director for vaccinations and screening at NHS England, said that people can contact their GP to book a vaccination appointment.
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Those with symptoms should “ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111,” he added.
People with whooping cough are advised to stay at home for 48 hours after starting antibiotics or three weeks after symptoms start if they have not had antibiotics.
Whooping cough symptoms
WHOOPING cough (pertussis) is a bacterial infection of the lungs and breathing tubes.
The first signs of whooping cough are similar to a cold, such as a runny nose and sore throat (a high temperature is uncommon).
After about a week, you or your child:
- will get coughing bouts that last for a few minutes and are worse at night
- may make a “whoop” sound – a gasp for breath between coughs (young babies and some adults may not “whoop”)
- may have difficulty breathing after a coughing bout and may turn blue or grey (young infants)
- may bring up a thick mucus, which can make you vomit
- may become very red in the face (more common in adults)
The cough may last for several weeks or months.
Source: NHS