Whooping cough: Disease on the rise in Scotland as five babies die in England

More than 2,700 whooping cough cases have been reported across England so far in 2024 – more than three times the number recorded in the whole of last year, according to the UKHSA.

Cases of whooping cough are on the rise in Scotland, health chiefs have warned, following the deaths of five babies in England.

More than 2,700 whooping cough cases have been reported across England so far in 2024 – more than three times the number recorded in the whole of last year, according to the UKHSA.

Between January and the end of March, there have been five infant deaths.

Cases of whooping cough in England have soared as five infant deaths from the infection were confirmed.

The next quarterly report for Scotland is not due to be published until June, but Public Health Scotland has warned that over the last few weeks notifications of whooping cough have increased.

Dr Sam Ghebrehewet, head of immunisation and vaccination at PHS, said: “Whooping cough (also known as pertussis) is a bacterial infection that causes long bouts of coughing.

“Initially it starts with mild respiratory symptoms, progressing to a prolonged cough, and the cough may occur in prolonged episodes, and be preceded by a strong indrawing of breath heard as a “whoop”.

“In young children this can present as vomiting. It is usually self-limiting but can cause severe illness and death, particularly in young unimmunised children.

“The infection is spread by respiratory droplets, either directly between people or through contaminated items. Babies under one year of age are most at risk from whooping cough.

“Whooping cough can be prevented with immunisation which is given to infants, younger children and pregnant women. The whooping cough vaccine is offered to pregnant women to help protect their baby against the infection.

“Getting immunised during pregnancy is the best way to protect the baby in the first few vulnerable weeks of their life until they’re old enough to have the routine immunisation at eight weeks of age.”

An increase in laboratory-confirmed pertussis cases was observed in Scotland in late 2023.

Of the 73 cases reported in 2023, the majority were reported in the final quarter of the year.

For comparison, in 2022 and 2021 there were three and four cases of pertussis reported, respectively. This is a considerable decline from the 198 cases reported in 2020 and 746 cases reported in 2019.

UKHSA consultant epidemiologist Dr Gayatri Amirthalingam said: “Whooping cough can affect people of all ages, but for very young babies it can be extremely serious.

“Our thoughts and condolences are with those families who have so tragically lost their baby.”

In March alone, 1,319 cases were reported in England, according to the UKHSA’s provisional data.

“During this quarter, while most cases (50.8 per cent, 1420) were in those aged 15 years or older who usually get a mild illness, the rates of whooping cough remain highest in babies under 3 months of age,” a release from UKHSA reads.

“Whooping cough cases have been rising across England, as well as in many other countries, since December 2023 due to a combination of factors. Whooping cough is a cyclical disease that peaks every 3 to 5 years.

"The last cyclical increase occurred in 2016. However, in common with other diseases, cases fell to very low numbers during the pandemic due to restrictions and public behaviours. A peak year is therefore overdue. The impact of the pandemic also means there is reduced immunity in the population.”