The Department of Health (DH) has announced that pregnant women will be offered the whooping cough vaccination to protect their newborn babies, who are not usually vaccinated until between two and four months.
Some 1,230 cases of whooping cough in England and Wales were reported to the Health Protection Agency (HPA) in August 2012, bringing the total number of cases so far this year to 4,791. The total number of cases so far in 2012 (up to end of August) is now more than four times higher than the annual total number of cases reported in 2011. In August there were a further three pertussis-related deaths in infants aged three months and under, bringing the total number of deaths in this age group this year to nine. Dr Mary Ramsay, at the HPA, said: “We have been very concerned about the continuing increase in whooping cough cases and related deaths. We welcome the urgent measure from the DH to minimise the harm from whooping cough, particularly in young infants, and we encourage all pregnant women to ensure they receive the vaccination to give their baby the best protection against whooping cough.”
