Cases of a highly contagious disease, also known as ‘100-day cough’, are rapidly increasing in London in 2024. This bacterial infection is more commonly known as whooping cough and is easily spread.
Adults with whooping cough may experience rib pain, hernias, mild ear infections, and even leakage of urine when coughing, according to the NHS website. For children, whooping cough is more dangerous and can cause dehydration, difficulty breathing, pneumonia, and even seizures.
In London, 87 suspected cases of pertussis were reported to the UK Health and Safety Agency (UKHSA) in the first three weeks of 2024. Below is an interactive map showing the number of suspected cases of whooping cough in the UK.
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The most effective way to prevent pertussis is to be fully vaccinated, but last year the UKHSA warned that maternal pertussis vaccination rates had fallen to the lowest level in seven years. In London, the vaccination rate is particularly low at 41.4%.
Dr Gayatri Amirthalingam, a consultant epidemiologist at the UK Health and Safety Executive, said: ‘Before routine immunization was introduced in the 1950s, whooping cough outbreaks occurred every two to three years, killing tens of thousands of people. Our vaccination program has been a huge success in dramatically reducing the number of people infected, but because neither infectious diseases nor vaccination can provide lifelong protection, The disease has not completely disappeared.
“The social distancing and lockdown measures imposed across the UK during the coronavirus pandemic have had a significant impact on the spread of other infectious diseases, including whooping cough. Given that numbers are increasing and infants are at highest risk of severe disease, it is important that pregnant women get vaccinated to protect their babies from birth to prevent complications from whooping cough, and that infants It is important that children receive the vaccine at 8, 12 and 16 weeks of age, or as soon as possible thereafter if vaccination is delayed.
Number of incidents by London borough
Below is a breakdown of the number of infections by London borough.
Barking and Dagenham – 1
Burnett – 3
Bexley – 3
Brent – 0
Bromley – 8
Camden – 3
City of London – Not applicable
Croydon – 1
Ealing – 5
Enfield – 1
Greenwich – 3
hackney – 4
Hammersmith and Fulham – 3
Haringey – 2
Hello – 2
Havering – 1
Hillingdon – 3
Hounslow – 4
Islington – 0
Kensington and Chelsea – 1
Kingston – 4
Lambeth – 4
Lewisham – 4
Marton – 4
Newham – 1
Red Bridge – 0
Richmond – 6
Southwark – 4
Sutton – 2
tower hamlets – 1
Waltham Forest – 0
Wandsworth – 5
Westminster – 3
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