EIGHT babies have died in the UK whooping cough outbreak, health officials say. Cases have also risen by 32 per cent in England between March and April, according to figures from the UK Health and Security Agency published today. 3 Eight babies have now died as whooping cough sweeps the UK Credit: Alamy 3 How cases have soared in 2024 In total, there have been 4,793 cases of whooping cough in England in 2024 against the 858 in 2023.
Some 342 cases (six per cent) have been in babies under one years old, around half have been in those aged 15 years or older and 26 per cent have been in children aged between 10 and 14 years. Scotland has also reported a huge 2,800 cases of the bug this year against the 73 for the whole of 2023. Dr Gayatri Amirthalingam, consultant epidemiologist at UK Health Security Agency, said: “Our thoughts and condolences are with those families who have so tragically lost their baby.
“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." Professor Sir Stephen Powis, NHS England’s national medical director, said: “With cases of whooping cough continuing to rise sharply across the country, and today’s figures from UKHSA sadly showing further infant deaths, it is vital that families come forward to get the protection they need." The so-called ‘100 day cough’ is a bacterial infection of the lungs, medically ca.
