The infection can be particularly harmful to infants (Picture: Getty Images)
Five babies in England have died after being diagnosed with whooping cough, also known as the ‘100-day cough’, so far this year.
There were 2,793 confirmed cases of whooping cough cases in England between January and March, according to health officials.
This is more than triple the amount recorded last year, with 858 cases.
Whooping cough, officially known as pertussis, is a bacterial infection of the lungs and breathing tubes.
The infection can lead to a prolonged cough that is easily spread.
In children, the illness causes them to make the characteristic ‘whoop’ sound – caused by a gasp for breath – that makes it easily identifiable. It can cause youngsters to stop breathing or have seizures.
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There were 1,319 cases reported in March alone, the UK Health Security Agency (UJHSA) revealed today.
During the three month period, most cases (50.8%, or 1,420) were in those aged 15 years or older. In adults, pertussis can seem like just another persistent cough.
The rates of 100-day cough remain highest in babies under three months of age, the UKHSA said of the preliminary data.
Whooping cough is very infectious. As as soon as they get cold-like symptoms, a person can spread the bacteria Bordetella pertussis easily to others.
Infections can be treated using antibiotics, with the symptoms lasting for 10 weeks or more.
Dr Gayatri Amirthalingam, Consultant Epidemiologist at the UKHSA, said today: ‘Vaccination remains the best defence against whooping cough and it is vital that pregnant women and young infants receive their vaccines at the right time.
‘Pregnant women are offered a whooping cough vaccine in every pregnancy, ideally between 20 and 32 weeks.
‘This passes protection to their baby in the womb so that they are protected from birth in the first months of their life when they are most vulnerable and before they can receive their own vaccines.’
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