Three more babies die from whooping cough as cases soar across the country
06.06.2024 - 11:47
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Three more babies have died from whooping cough in England, health officials have confirmed. It takes the total number of babies who have died from the disease since the start of the year to eight.
It comes amid a rapid rise in cases of whooping cough in recent months, with 4,793 confirmed cases since January compared to 858 in the whole of 2023, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). And the rise comes as the country has seen whooping cough vaccine uptake decline in recent years, the UKHSA says.
Pregnant women are being urged to get the jab. Dr Gayatri Amirthalingam, consultant epidemiologist at UKHSA, said: “Our thoughts and condolences are with those families who have so tragically lost their baby.
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“With whooping cough case numbers across the country continuing to rise and sadly the further infant deaths in April, we are again reminded how severe the illness can be for very young babies. Pregnant women should have a whooping cough vaccine in every pregnancy, normally around the time of their mid-pregnancy scan (usually 20 weeks).
"This passes protection to their baby in the womb so that they are protected from birth in the first months of their life when they are most vulnerable and before they can receive their own vaccines. The vaccine is crucial for pregnant women, to protect their babies from what can be a devastating illness.”
In April this year, the latest figures available, there were 1,888 cases of whooping cough. The bacterial infection, also known as pertussis, affects the lungs and breathing tubes.
Between January and the end of April, some 181 babies under the age of three months were diagnosed with