Warning over surge in dangerous disease with symptoms to watch for

Children will be at risk in September
-Credit: (Image: Getty)


UK health officials have issued a warning amid a fear there will be surge in cases of a highly infectious disease this month, with 12,000 people already falling ill. The UK Health Security Agency says it is possible there will be many more cases of pertussis - known as the 100-day-cough - as children return to school.

Symptoms of the illness, also known as whooping cough, can last for weeks or months and can be fatal for babies, the elderly and the vulnerable.

A UKHSA spokesperson said: "Whilst monthly case numbers in 2024 have fallen since May, pertussis activity remains high and may increase after children in England return to school in September."

12,200 people across the UK have already fallen ill with the disease in the first half of this year - up from 856 cases in the whole of 2023. A fifth of those falling ill have been children aged 10 to 14 and almost 12 per cent were children aged from five to nine. Nine children have died of the illness so far this year, with 379 babies under three months old falling ill.

A UKHSA spokesman added: "The recent increase in pertussis cases has been observed across all age groups and in every region in England. Vaccination in pregnancy is key to passively protecting babies before they can be directly protected by the infant vaccine programme

"Case numbers rose across the first five months of 2024 to May, as expected based on usual seasonal patterns, and remained high in June and July. Confirmed cases in the second quarter of 2024 were notably high, exceeding those in any quarter of the 2012 outbreak year."

Whooping cough symptoms include a runny nose and sore throat as well as a cough that can last for minutes at a time and get worse at night. The coughing can be so severe it causes people to 'whoop', go red in the face, bring up mucus and even crack ribs.