Whooping cough warning as outbreak hits Scotland

THE worst outbreak of whooping cough since the 1980s has hit Scotland.

GPs have seen 873 cases this year, compared with only 36 for the same months in 2011.

Elsewhere in the UK, five babies have died during the current outbreak, which began at the end of last year. Health Protection Scotland has urged parents to ensure that young babies are vaccinated against the illness.

It affects all ages, but its symptoms are generally most serious in very young infants. Dr Martin Donaghy, health director of HPS: said: “There certainly seems to have been a tipping point whereby a large proportion of the population are not immune and the germ is now spreading, particularly through the adult and adolescent population.”