13 April 2012

NI Whooping Cough Cases Soar In 2012

There has been a significant rise in the number of children contracting Whooping Cough in Northern Ireland, it has been revealed.

According to the Public Health Authority (PHA) more children in the country have contracted Whooping Cough in the first three months of 2012 than in the entire year of 2011.

The PHA said that by the end of March of this year there were 27 confirmed cases in comparison with 13 confirmed cases in the whole of last year.

Whooping cough, sometimes referred to as pertussis, is an infection of the lining of the airways. It mainly affects the windpipe and the two airways that branch off from it to the lungs.

It's known as whooping cough because the main symptom is a hacking cough, which is often followed by a sharp intake of breath that sounds like a 'whoop'.

Most children are vaccinated against whooping cough at two, three and four months of age, but some parents are opting not to have their children immunised against the disease.

Dr Richard Smithson, Consultant in Health Protection from the PHA, said: "The vaccine for whooping cough is included in a jab that also protects against diphtheria, polio, Haemophilus influenza type B - a cause of meningitis - and tetanus.

"Children should receive a booster at around three and a half to four years of age, before they start school. It is important that children receive all these doses so that they can build up and keep high levels of immunity to the disease."

(LB)