Pregnant Women Urged To Get Whooping Cough Vaccine

Pregnant women are being encouraged to take up the whooping cough (pertussis) vaccine, after new figures revealed the disease remains at increased levels in England.

Published today, the data for the year to March 2015, shows whooping cough vaccine coverage in pregnant women averaged 56.4% in England.

Data on incidence shows that confirmed cases of whooping cough in babies under the age of three months remain low, indicating that the vaccination programme is protecting young babies from birth. However, overall, the figures also reveal that reported whooping cough cases are still at raised levels in England, meaning that babies born to unvaccinated mothers remain vulnerable to the disease in their first few weeks of life.

In 2015, to the end of June, there were 1,744 laboratory confirmed whooping cough cases reported. In the same period last year, there was 1,412 cases.

Dr Mary Ramsay, Head of Immunisation at Public Health England (PHE) said: "The latest figures show that whooping cough is still prevalent in England and it's important that pregnant women visit their GP surgery or midwife to get vaccinated, ideally between weeks 28 and 32 of their pregnancy.

"Being vaccinated against whooping cough while you're pregnant is a highly-effective way to protect your baby in the first few weeks of their life. The immunity you get from the vaccine passes to your baby and provides them with protection until they are old enough to be routinely vaccinated against whooping cough at two months old."

Professor John Watson, Deputy Chief Medical Officer added: "Babies too young to start their vaccinations are at greatest risk from whooping cough. It's an extremely distressing illness that can lead to young babies being admitted to hospital and can potentially be fatal.

"Deaths in infants with whooping cough have reduced significantly since the introduction of the vaccine for pregnant women in 2012, so I encourage all pregnant women to take up the pertussis vaccine when offered."

Whooping cough (pertussis) is an acute respiratory infection. It usually starts with mild, cold-like symptoms that develop over one to two weeks, into coughing fits that can be severe. The cough can often last for two to three months. However, whooping cough can be fatal, particularly in young babies before they are protected by their first dose of vaccine at two months.

Pregnant women in the UK have been offered whooping cough vaccine since October 2012 in response to a national outbreak.

(JP)