Five infant deaths signal serious UK whooping cough outbreak

[xchrom]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/jul/27/infant-deaths-whooping-cough-epidemic


Five infant deaths from whooping cough have prompted the government to consider a vaccination booster programme. Photograph: Gareth Fuller/PA

Health experts are warning of a major outbreak of whooping cough: five infants have died so far this year, prompting doctors to consider a new round of vaccinations.

The Health Protection Agency said on Friday that it was "very concerned" by figures which show 2,466 confirmed cases between January and June, six times the comparable figure for the previous big outbreak in 2008.

The government's vaccination committee is now considering recommending booster vaccinations for teenagers and pregnant women and has already recommended immunising healthcare workers who treat young children because infants are most at risk.

Mary Ramsay, the agency's head of immunisation, said: "We are working closely with the Department of Health's Joint Committee of Vaccination and Immunisation to consider the most effective ways to tackle the ongoing outbreak. The committee is reviewing a number of options, including the introduction of a booster dose in teenagers and offering whooping cough vaccination to pregnant women.

[LeftishBrit]

1. Worrying.

[NickB79]

2. Just got a TDAP booster today.

Two friends have contracted it here in Minnesota in the past year. One spent a week in the hospital coughing up blood. Scary stuff indeed.