Cases of the ‘100-day cough’ have soared to their highest level in a decade amid a nationwide surge, MailOnline can reveal.
UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) chiefs have received reports of 636 suspected cases of whooping cough in England and Wales so far in 2024.
It marks the biggest toll in the first three weeks of a year since comparable records began, with rates two-and-a-half times greater than pre-pandemic.
The surge in the bug, which causes a cough notoriously hard to shake off, comes in the face of a slump in vaccination rates. Uptake of the six-in-one jab, given to babies in their first few months of life, are at an all-time low.
Experts today warned that the surge is a ‘wakeup call’ and urged the UKHSA to find new ways of encouraging parents to get their infants vaccinated.
Health officials warned that the infection is initially difficult to tell apart from a cold, with the first signs typically being a runny nose and sore throat.
Health officials warned that the infection is initially difficult to tell apart from a cold, as the first signs are a runny nose and sore throat. But around a week later, sufferers may develop coughing bouts that last minutes, struggle to breathe after coughing and make a ‘whoop’ sound between coughs. Other signs of whooping cough include bringing up a thick mucus that can cause vomiting and becoming red in the face
But around a week later, sufferers may develop coughing bouts which last minutes, struggle to breathe after coughing and make a ‘whoop’ sound between coughs.
Other signs of pertussis, as it is medically known, include bringing up a thick mucus that can cause vomiting and becoming red in the face.
Medics must report every suspected case of certain infectious diseases, such as whooping cough, measles and smallpox.
Figures show 636 suspected cases had been reported to the UKHSA by January 21. For comparison, the figure stood at just 29 for the first three weeks of 2023.
It was even lower in 2022 (26) and 2021 (6), when Covid restrictions thwarted the spread of other bugs.
Pre-pandemic, between 2,500 and 4,500 suspected cases were logged each year. This fell to around 500 during the coronavirus crisis.
But cases hit 1,728 in 2023 because of the post-pandemic rebound. Similar trends were seen for bugs like flu and RSV.
However, rates are still nowhere near the annual high of 170,000 logged in the 1940s. Routine vaccination against whooping cough in the 1950s dramatically slashed levels.
It is caused by the pertussis bacteria and is spread by coughing and sneezing. Sufferers are infectious from around six days after cold-like symptoms develop to three weeks after their cough starts.
Doctors dish out antibiotics as treatment if the whooping cough is detected within three weeks. However, if a person has been infected for longer, antibiotics will not speed up their recovery.
The infection can be fatal, with up to 3 per cent of newborns dying from it, according to Professor Paul Hunter, an expert in infectious diseases from the University of East Anglia.
Additionally, most babies under six months with whooping cough are hospitalised with complications, such as dehydration, breathing difficulties and pneumonia.
It is less severe in older children and adults but can still cause sore ribs, a hernias, ear infections and urinary incontinence among these groups.
The 6-in-1 vaccine, given to babies at eight, 12 and 16 weeks, and the 4-in-1 pre-school booster, administered to children aged three years and four months, is vital for protecting against catching whooping cough.
Pregnant women are also encouraged to get the vaccine to protect their baby from catching the infection in the first few weeks of their life.
However, uptake of the 6-in-1 vaccine dropped to a record low of 92.6 per cent in 2023, while the 4-in-1 jab hit 83.3, also the lowest level ever logged, according to NHS England data going back to 2010.
Meanwhile, just 61.5 per cent of expectant mothers had the whooping cough jab in 2022 — the smallest number in seven years. The figure is even lower in London (41.4 per cent).
The surge in whooping cough comes as Britain is already battling a measles outbreak, which the UKHSA declared a national incident after cases skyrocketed in the west Midlands to their highest level since the 1990s.
Dr David Elliman, a consultant community paediatrician at Great Ormond Street Hospital, told MailOnline: ‘We have already seen a rise in measles cases and now it seems that cases of pertussis (whooping cough) are rising.
‘While the reduction in uptake of the MMR vaccine has been greater, there has also been a reduction in uptake of the other routine vaccinations.
‘While not as infectious as measles, pertussis is still very infectious, much more than Covid for example.
‘Therefore, it is not a surprise that cases seem to be going up.’
He noted that whooping cough is ‘particularly dangerous’ for young babies, who are best protected through vaccinating expectant mothers.
Dr Elliman added: ‘The rise of these diseases is a wakeup call for the whole of the vaccination programme.
‘Research suggests that the main barrier to vaccination is the ability to access the vaccines and knowledge of the diseases, rather than anti-vaccine sentiment.
‘UKHSA has launched a vaccination strategy. It is important that we don’t do more of the same, but look at innovative ways of working.’
Dr Gayatri Amirthalingam, consultant epidemiologist at the UKHSA, told MailOnline: ‘Before the introduction of routine immunisation in the 1950s, we used to experience large epidemics of whooping cough every two to three years affecting tens of thousands of people and many deaths.
‘Our vaccine programme has been hugely successful with a dramatic reduction in cases, but the infection hasn’t gone away completely as neither infection nor vaccination can provide life-long protection.
‘Social distancing and lockdown measures imposed across the UK during the Covid pandemic had a significant impact on the spread of other infections, including whooping cough.
‘As expected, we are now seeing increased cases and given that young babies are highest risk of serious complications from whooping cough, it’s vital that pregnant women get vaccinated to protect their babies from birth and that infants receive their vaccines at eight, 12 and 16 weeks of age or as soon as possible after that if their vaccines are delayed.’
