Whooping cough tragedy as newborn dies at Rugby as UK cases rise

A five-week-old local baby has died from whooping cough, officials said. Dr Shade Agboola, Warwickshire’s director of public health, confirmed the death of the baby from Rugby at a meeting of the county’s health and welfare board.

The tragedy was discussed as the meeting addressed concerns about a rise in cases in the UK. This increase is seen in a number of cases in our area.

Figures from the UK Health Safety Agency (UKHSA) show there have been three cases in Rugby in the past week, seven in the past fortnight and 35 cases for the year to May 4. In addition, there were 31 cases in the Warwick borough, 24 in the Stratford-on-Avon borough, six in Nuneaton and Bedworth and three in North Warwickshire over the same period in 2024.

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Dr Agboola said: “We have been busy in health protection for the past two weeks. Unfortunately, the media reports about pertussis, whooping cough and the increase in cases have unfortunately affected us.

“We had a death from pertussis a few weeks ago in a five-week-old baby in Rugby. We are working closely with the UK Health Safety Agency to come up with a range of actions to support that particular community where the death occurred. it happened.”

There have been five child deaths this year in the UK. The highest rate of infection was observed in the most vulnerable group of babies, those younger than three months.

Whooping cough – known clinically as pertussis – is a bacterial infection that affects the lungs. The first signs of infection are similar to a cold.

After about seven days, the infection can turn into coughing fits that last a few minutes and are often worse at night. Young babies may have difficulty breathing after a coughing fit that is not always associated with the distinctive noise associated with this condition, making it difficult to distinguish it from other conditions.

The UKHSA issued a statement earlier this month which confirmed that 1,319 cases had been reported in March 2024, following 918 in February and 556 in January. The BBC reports that there were only “around 200” in all of 2023.

Government advice says: “If someone in your family is diagnosed with whooping cough, it is important that they stay at home and not go to work, school or nursery for 48 hours after starting antibiotic treatment, or 3 weeks after symptoms start , if he didn’t have. he had antibiotics.

“This helps prevent the spread of infection, particularly to vulnerable groups, including infants. However, vaccination remains the best protection for babies and children.”

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