A baby in the UK died from pertussis/signs-symptoms/index.html” title=”Symptoms of Whooping Cough | Whooping Cough | CDC”>whooping cough earlier this year,marking the first infant death from the disease in the contry in 2024,according to data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). The infant is believed to have been under one year old and died between March and June.
The tragedy underscores the critical importance of maternal vaccination against whooping cough, also known as pertussis. As 2013, 33 babies have died from the disease in the UK, and 27 of those deaths – including this year’s – involved mothers who had not received a whooping cough vaccine during pregnancy.
Infants are particularly vulnerable to whooping cough as they are too young to be fully vaccinated themselves; the vaccine is typically administered at 12 months. They rely on immunity passed from their mothers and from those around them. The pertussis vaccine was introduced for pregnant women in October 2012.
“sadly, with a further infant death in the second quarter of 2024, we are again reminded how severe whooping cough can be for very young babies,” said UKHSA deputy director Dr. gayatri Amirthalingam in a statement to The Times. “Our thoughts and condolences are with the family who have so tragically lost their baby.”
Whooping cough is a highly contagious infection affecting the lungs and breathing passages. The news comes amid growing concerns over declining childhood vaccination rates across the UK, with data revealing that none of the routine infant jabs were on target in England last year.Rising measles cases, including a recent child death reported at alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool, have further heightened these concerns.
The NHS recently announced plans to roll out chickenpox vaccines to babies for the first time, adding it to the combined MMR (mumps, measles, and rubella) jab from January 2026 for all 12 to 18-month-olds.
