CASES of nasty whooping cough – know as the ‘100-day cough’ due to its lingering symptoms – have reached a 10-year high in parts of the UK.
Cases in Wales have risen rapidly in the first few weeks of 2024, rising to “levels not seen since 2012 and 2015”.
Cases of whooping cough have risen rapidly in Wales in the first weeks of 2024
There have already been 135 notified cases so far in January, the BBC reported, compared to 200 in the whole of last year.
“Whooping cough has waves of increased infection every three to four years and in the last few weeks, notifications of whooping cough have risen sharply,” Public Health Wales (PHW) said in a recent alert .
“Following reduced circulation in 2020-2022, current notifications are at levels not seen since 2012 and 2015.”
“Laboratory confirmed cases have not yet risen in line with notifications but are likely to increase as test results are reported,” it added.
It comes after the NHS recently updated its guidance for all those suffering from the nasty illness, urging people to “stay off school, work or nursery until 48 hours after starting antibiotics” to treat whooping cough.
If you haven’t had antibiotics, it recommended you isolate for three weeks after symptoms start.
Whooping cough typically causes cold-like symptoms within the first few days before progressing to coughing bouts that are worse at night and you might emit the characteristic ‘whoop’ sound as you gasp for air between coughs.
It may last for several weeks or months, hence the name ‘the 100-day cough’.
Dr Christopher Johnson, consultant epidemiologist and head of PHW’s Vaccine Preventable Disease Programme said babies under six months old are especially vulnerable to whooping cough.
“It can be very serious and lead to pneumonia and permanent brain damage,” he warned.
“Young babies with whooping cough are at risk of dying from the disease.”
Why are cases rising so sharply?
Explaining why cases in Wales seem to be rising so sharply, Dr Johnson said: “We typically see high rates of whooping cough peaking every three to four years, and with rates suppressed during the lock downs of the pandemic we are naturally seeing a resurgence this year.
“Whooping cough is highly contagious and is spread by breathing in small droplets in the air from other people’s coughs and sneezes,” he added.
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 colds, 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
Wales isn’t the only region to see a surge in cases.
As of January 14, 220 cases of whooping cough were reported in England and Wales, according to the UK Health Security Agency’s weekly Notification of Infectious Diseases report (NOIDs).
That’s up from 167 in January 7 and 137 on December 31.
Those figures showed that only 39 whooping cough cases in Wales up until mid-January.
Regions like the North West also recorded high case numbers with 42 reports on whooping cough on January 14, followed by the South East with 30, London with 27 and Yorkshire and the Humber with 22.
How can whooping cough be prevented?
Whooping cough can be prevented through vaccination.
The pertussis vaccine is included in the ‘6-in-1 vaccine’ given to babies at eight, 12 and 16 weeks old, while the jab is also offered to expectant mothers who are 16 to 32 weeks along.
But Prof Beate Kampmann, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine previously told The Sun: “The rise in cases might be because of missed vaccination appointments, possibly during the Covid pandemic.”
The latest UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) data on the maternal whooping cough vaccine programme shows that uptake of the jab has dropped to its lowest level in seven years.
In Wales, health officials called on all pregnant women and parents of babies and young children to ensure that they have had their whooping cough vaccinations as cases spiked.
Reports of whooping cough in England and Wales as of January 14, according to the UKHSA