The death, which occurred between March and June, is the first fatal case of whooping cough in the UK this year and comes as vaccination rates among children and pregnant women have fallen to their lowest levels in 15 years.
Whooping cough, or pertussis, is a bacterial infection of the lungs and airways which can be fatal, particularly for babies. Eleven infants died of the highly infectious illness in 2024.
The UKHSA says vaccination during pregnancy, introduced in late 2012, is “key to passively protecting babies” in their first weeks of life. Infants are first offered a jab which protects against whooping cough at eight weeks old. Thirty-three infants have died of the illness since 2013 – 27 of whom had mothers who had not received the jab in pregnancy.
square MMR MMR vaccine uptake among five-year-olds remains at lowest level since 2010
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“Vaccination is the best defence against whooping cough and it is vital that pregnant women and young infants receive their vaccines at the right time, ideally between 20 and 32 weeks. This passes protection to their baby in the womb so that they are protected from birth.
“If you are pregnant and approaching 20 weeks, and haven’t been offered the whooping cough vaccine, please speak to your GP or midwife today to find out how you can get your vaccine.”
Last year, the share of five-year-olds who had received one dose of the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine remained at its lowest level since 2010/11, at 91.9 per cent. The uptake rate for both doses – 83.7 per cent – was at its lowest since 2009/10.
In July, a child died at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool after contracting the illness. The hospital said the highly contagious virus was on the rise among young people in the region and it had seen a surge in “seriously unwell” children being admitted.
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Read MoreAlmost one in five children starting primary school this week in England are not fully protected from diseases including whooping cough, polio, tetanus and diphtheria, the latest UKHSA figures also show.
The government this week said all young children in the UK would be offered a free chickenpox vaccine by the NHS from January 2026.
He said campaigns explaining “the benefits of getting vaccinated and the fact that this is 100 per cent safe” would be brought forward as the government sought to “win this battle against the conspiracy theorists”.
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