Whooping cough cases are soaring across the UK with more alerts for the Victorian illness, also known as the 100-day cough, in the last two weeks than the whole of last year. Cases are now at their highest for 40 years and the latest numbers from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) reveal there were more than 2,000 notifications of possible cases in the two weeks up to May 12 - compared with 1,728 for the entire of 2023. There have already been 11,000 suspected cases so far this year - around six times more than last year.
The figures, which have now been mapped out to show the UK hotspots, show there were 921 in the seven days up to May 12, and 1,098 the week before. Whooping cough is a highly contagious bacterial infection of the lungs and airways, says the NHS . It causes repeated coughing bouts that can last for two to three months or more, and can make babies and young children in particular very ill.
Whooping cough is spread in the droplets of the coughs or sneezes of someone with the infection. Symptoms of whooping cough appear similar to those of a normal cold with “a runny nose, red and watery eyes, a sore throat and a slightly raised temperature” states the NHS. This is then followed by the key sign of coughs that begin a week later where there are bouts that last for a few minutes and are more common at night.
The coughing may bring up thick mucus and could lead to vomiting. “Between coughs, you or your child may gasp for breath – this may cause a ‘whoo.