Why 5,000 whooping cough cases have been recorded this year in Scottish spike

Scotland’s whooping cough outbreak has hit a new high, with more than 5,000 cases reported to Scottish health watchdogs.

According to newly-released Public Health Scotland (PHS) figures, there have been 5,026 laboratory-confirmed pertussis cases in Scotland in 2024, up to July 8. 

Whooping cough - also known as pertussis - is a bacterial infection that causes long bouts of coughing, characterised by a strong indrawing of breath heard as a “whoop”. 

The recent wave has far surpassed Scotland’s previous outbreaks, which tend to occur every three to five years, leading to fears vaccine hesitancy caused by online misinformation may be playing a part. 

PHS said in a statement: “Prior to 2024, the last significant outbreak in Scotland occurred in 2012 and 2013, with 1,896 and 1,188 laboratory confirmed cases per year.”

The Royal College of GPs said it was “frustrating” to see cases of whooping cough “when there is a safe and effective vaccine available to prevent people from becoming unwell”.  

Whooping cough claimed the lives of five babies in England between January and March.

“With whooping cough expected to continue to circulate at high levels until the autumn, PHS is encouraging pregnant women to ensure they are immunised between weeks 16 and 32 of their pregnancy,” a statement from PHS reads.  

“The vaccine is required in each pregnancy and offers vital protection to babies after birth until they are old enough to have their first routine immunisation at around 8 weeks old. Parents are encouraged to ensure their children are immunised against whooping cough, as it is a highly contagious bacterial infection.”

The outbreak comes against a backdrop of declining vaccination rates in Scotland, although vaccine uptake remains high.

Last year 95 per cent of Scottish children under 12 months of age received the DTaP/IPV/Hib/HepB vaccine - commonly known as the 'six-in-one vaccine' - that protects against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) and hepatitis B.

Dr Sam Ghebrehewet, head of vaccination and immunisation at PHS, said being vaccinated was “the best thing you can do” to help protect against serious vaccine preventable diseases. 

“Some of the diseases that these vaccines protect against have almost disappeared from the UK as a result of so many people being vaccinated against them over the years,” he said. “We need to maintain high vaccination uptake rates to reduce the risk of infections occurring.”

The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) said low levels of disease during the coronavirus pandemic had led to the outbreak being so much higher than in previous years. But the health body said maternal vaccination rates were also contributing to the spike.

Dr Helen Stewart, the RCPCH’s officer for health improvement, said: “Whooping cough is a cyclical disease, with spikes occurring every three to five years. However, at this time we are seeing quite high numbers of cases. 

“Some of this is a result of very low levels of disease during the pandemic, when public health measures brought in reduced rates of many other infections. However, we also know that maternal vaccination rates are far too low, no doubt adding to this current spike.”