Whooping cough advice
The following information the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA)
Whooping cough is a bacterial infection of the lungs and airways. It spreads very easily through coughing and sneezing and can sometimes cause serious health problems, especially in young babies.
Whooping cough rates have risen sharply in recent months. Babies who are too young to start their vaccinations are at greatest risk. Young babies with whooping cough often become very unwell and most will be admitted to hospital. When whooping cough is particularly severe, they can die.
Vaccination
Vaccination is the best defence against whooping cough. The whooping cough vaccine is given as part of the routine childhood vaccination schedule in the UK at 8,12 and 16 weeks of age with a booster offered preschool. This programme provides good protection against severe disease but protection after vaccination and disease will wane over time.
Pregnant women can help protect their babies by getting vaccinated. When you have the whooping cough vaccination in pregnancy, your body produces antibodies to protect against whooping cough. These antibodies pass to your baby through the placenta giving them high levels of protection until they're able to have their own whooping cough vaccination from 8 weeks old.
When to get vaccinated
The best time to get vaccinated to protect your baby is between 20 to 32 weeks of pregnancy. The vaccine is usually offered to women after their 20-week scan.
Vaccines can be given from as early as 16 weeks and women remain eligible beyond 32 weeks until they give birth. Mums-to-be can contact their midwife or GP surgery if they have reached week 20 of their pregnancy and are unsure whether they have had the vaccine. You can still have the vaccine in late pregnancy but it may not be as effective because there is less time for protection from the mother to pass to their baby.
Women can also receive the vaccine after delivery, for up to 8 weeks until their baby is old enough to get their first dose. This can help protect the mother from pertussis, reducing the chance that their baby will be exposed to the infection.
Whooping cough vaccine has been used extensively in pregnant women in the UK since October 2012. Vaccination of pregnant women has been shown to be around 90% effective in preventing whooping cough cases and hospital admissions in young babies and over 90% effective at preventing infant deaths.
A UKHSA review of vaccination in pregnancy to prevent whooping cough (pertussis) in early infancy, published in 2018, found safety studies covering more than 150 000 vaccinated women provide reassurance of no increased risk of problems in mothers or babies.
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Symptoms
The first symptoms of whooping cough are similar to a common cold, with a runny nose and a mild fever.
After about a week or two, the characteristic cough develops with uncontrolled bouts of intense coughing that can last for several minutes, sometimes causing vomiting.
Coughing is often worse overnight. Coughing fits can cause some people to make a distinctive "whooping" sound as they gasp for breath between coughs. However, young babies and some others who have the infection don’t always make this noise which means that whooping cough can sometimes be difficult to recognise.
Babies under 3 months old who are not fully protected through immunisation are at the highest risk of developing severe complications including pauses in breathing (apnoea), dehydration, pneumonia, or seizures.
You can read more about the signs, symptoms and what to do if you suspect your child may
have whooping cough on theNHS website:
If you are worried your baby may have whooping cough, contact your doctor immediately.
