Ongoing whooping cough activity prompts fresh call for vaccinations

Public Health England is calling for pregnant women to get vaccinated against whooping cough, or pertussis, to protect themselves against the threat posed by the disease.

New surveillance figures confirm that whooping cough activity remains at raised levels in England, meaning babies born to unvaccinated mothers remain vulnerable to the disease in their first few weeks of life.

There were more laboratory-confirmed whooping cough cases reported in 2015 to the end of June – 1,744 cases – than in the same period last year (1,412 cases).

Although these numbers are higher than those observed before the whooping cough outbreak began, they are lower than the figures observed during the comparable period in 2012 and 2013.

Moreover, for the year to March 2015, whooping cough vaccine coverage in pregnant women averaged 56.4 percent in England, with confirmed cases of the condition in babies under three months of age remaining relatively low.

Dr Mary Ramsay, head of immunisation at Public Health England, said: "The latest figures show that whooping cough is still prevalent in England and it's important that pregnant women visit their GP surgery or midwife to get vaccinated."