Victorian disease map shows number of cases in your area as infections explode
Scientists recorded more whooping cough cases in January than they did across the first 10 months of 2023, figures have revealed, with two dozen babies testing positive.
The figures, collated by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) show there were 553 lab-confirmed cases of the illness in England in the first month of 2024. By comparison, there were only nine confirmed cases in the same period the year before.
The country is currently seeing a huge surge in cases of whooping cough and measles. While the UKHSA has not released data showing the locations where outbreaks have been confirmed, it is possible to map notifications of whooping cough.
These are alerts that GPs are required to send to the UKHSA every time they diagnose a case of what they believe to be whooping cough - a Victorian bacterial respiratory disease usually affecting young children, hallmarked by coughing fits interspersed by gasps.
In January, GPs found 793 suspected cases in England, which means about 70% were later confirmed by lab tests. Across England and Wales, there have been 3,175 suspected cases so far this year, up to March 4, which includes 631 possible infections in Wales.
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Swansea has seen the highest number of suspected cases with 91, followed by Hart in Hampshire (77), Cardiff (75), Vale of Glamorgan (72), and Leeds (55). You can see the suspected cases near you with our interactive map.
While more than half of cases this January were in teenagers and adults aged 15 and over (52%), 22 were confirmed in babies under the age of three months - who are most at risk of severe illness and too young to be fully vaccinated. That is just under half as many cases as there were across the whole of last year in infants of that age (48).
The UKHSA says 21 babies have died after contracting whooping cough since the introduction of the maternal pertussis vaccination in 2012 - including one infant in the last quarter of 2023. This is a jab given to expectant mothers to protect their unborn children from whooping cough until they are old enough to be vaccinated. Its effectiveness is estimated at 97%.
Only two of the babies who died had a mother who was vaccinated during pregnancy. In the 12 years before the vaccine was introduced there were three times as many deaths among babies who had contracted whooping cough (63).
But vaccine uptake is falling. Four in 10 expectant mothers do not take the maternal pertussis vaccination. The government has now launched a hard-hitting campaign that seeks to remind parents about the importance of ensuring their children are protected against a range of diseases including whooping cough.
The six-in-one jab, which is recommended to be given before their first birthday, protects against whooping cough as well as other serious illnesses like polio and diphtheria. But in 39 council areas of England, at least one in 10 children are unprotected and only 28 of 149 local authority areas have a vaccine coverage either at or above the target of 95%.
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