Whooping cough vaccine plea as five babies die
Concern over bird flu spreading
Scientists are becoming increasingly worried about fast-spreading bird flu infections among dairy cows that are more likely to mutate into infections in humans.
While a new human pandemic is seen among scientists as unlikely, it is a genuine concern and one that has been growing since the
H5N1 bird flu virus was reported in cattle for the first time in the US just over a month ago.
The virus has now been detected in 36 dairy herds across nine US states. The true number of infected cows is thought to be much higher, but it is difficult to detect the virus while surveillance is low.
Crucially, bird flu appears to be passing between cattle relatively easily compared to other non-bird animals that have contracted the virus that have nearly always got it from birds and only rarely from other animals of the same species.
Scientists say this means it can spread much more quickly through cow populations, creating the risk of a new pandemic.
Defra said there was no evidence the virus was spreading in cattle in the UK. “The risk is very low but it’s real enough to make me nervous,” Professor Paul Hunter, an infectious disease expert at the University of East Anglia, told i.
Five babies in England have died this year after being diagnosed with whooping cough, health officials have said amid a rapid rise in cases.
It comes as the number of whooping cough vaccinations has fallen and pharmacists warned of a rise in patients turning to social media for healthcare advice.
More than 2,700 cases have been reported throughout England in 2024 so far – more than three times the number recorded in the whole of 2023.
The uptake of vaccinations that protect against whooping cough has fallen in recent years across the country among pregnant women and infants, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said.
New UKHSA data showed that there were 2,793 cases reported to the end of March, compared to 858 cases for the whole of last year. In March alone, 1,319 cases were reported.
Infants are at highest risk of severe complications and death from whooping cough, a bacterial infection also known as pertussis, which affects the lungs and breathing tubes.
NHS England national medical director
One reason for the rise in cases is thought to be that whooping cough is a cyclical disease that peaks every three to five years. The last cyclical increase was recorded in 2016.
Professor Sir Stephen Powis said: “With cases of whooping cough continuing to rise sharply, and today’s figures sadly showing five infant deaths, it is vital that families come forward to get the protection they need.”
Pregnant women are being urged to get the whooping cough vaccine so they can pass on protection to their babies, which should last until they are old enough to be vaccinated themselves. 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.
“Vaccination remains the best defence against whooping cough and it is vital that pregnant women and young infants receive their vaccines at the right time.”
Whooping cough, also known as the “100-day cough”, spreads easily.
Anti-vax messages are believed to be one of the reasons for a fall in vaccination rates.
Community pharmacist Reena Barai has noticed seen a rise in vaccine hesitancy since the Covid jab rollout.
She said patients come in “with printouts from Facebook of people who say, ‘This vaccine does this, does that.’ If they’re informing their decisions based on social media, that’s not always the best place.”
Ms Barai, who is an independent pharmacy owner, believes allowing pharmacists to offer and administer the vaccine could help boost uptake.