This contagious infection can prove fatal to young babies
Fiona Callingham Lifestyle writer
11:18, 12 Feb 2026
The UKHSA issued a warning to parents about this potentially fatal illness(Image: Getty)
Parents are being urged to recognise a distinctive sound following a warning from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) about a potentially life-threatening illness. Whilst overall cases of this disease have declined since the 1950s, they tend to peak every few years.
In a post shared on social media platform X, the UKHSA emphasised the importance of identifying the signs of whooping cough, asking: “Do you know the symptoms of whooping cough?
“Make sure you know what to look out for. Our blog post has useful info and advice for parents.”
The health agency also included a recording demonstrating the characteristic sound of whooping cough, encouraging people to listen carefully. The NHS describes this as a “whoop” sound – a “gasp for breath between coughs”.
In its blog, the UKHSA clarified that whooping cough is a highly contagious bacterial infection primarily affecting the lungs and respiratory system. Medically known as pertussis, it’s also called the 100-day cough due to its prolonged duration.
Content cannot be displayed without consent
What are the symptoms?
The UKHSA notes that initial symptoms of whooping cough mirror those of a common cold, including a runny nose and slight temperature. “After about a week or two, the classic cough develops with uncontrolled fits of severe coughing that can last for several minutes, sometimes causing vomiting,” it states.
“Coughing is often worse at night. Coughing fits can cause some people to make a typical ‘whooping’ sound as they gasp for breath between coughs.”
Who faces the greatest risk?
The UKHSA has warned: “Young babies who are not yet old enough to have had their first three doses of infant vaccines are at the highest risk of developing severe whooping cough including pauses in breathing (apnoea), dehydration, pneumonia, or seizures. Rarely, babies with whooping cough can sadly die.”
Vaccines
In the UK, the whooping cough vaccine is administered as part of the standard childhood vaccination programme. Infants receive three doses at eight, 12 and 16 weeks old (the six-in-one vaccine), followed by a booster at three years four months.
The UKHSA further explained: “Children born from July 2024 onwards will have a fourth dose of the whooping cough vaccine at 18 months of age that will help boost their protection until they get their next dose at three years four months of age. The vaccine course helps provide high levels of protection against severe disease.”
It’s also crucial for expectant mothers to be vaccinated against whooping cough to safeguard their newborns before they can receive their own initial vaccine dose. Vaccination during pregnancy enhances the mother’s immunity, which is then passed on to the unborn child, providing protection from birth.
Vaccinating pregnant women has been found to be 90 per cent effective in preventing whooping cough fatalities in young infants.
Prevalence
The UKHSA added: “In the years since monitoring began, we have seen a huge fall in whooping cough cases from peak years exceeding 100,000 cases in the 1950s, before the first whooping cough vaccine was introduced, to a peak year of around 6,000 cases in 2016 by which time many new ways of confirming whooping cough had also been introduced.
“Whooping cough is a disease that regularly peaks every three to five years. We saw very high rates of whooping cough in 2024, following a long period of very low case numbers due to controls, and reduced social mixing patterns during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
When to seek help
The NHS advises that you should request an urgent GP appointment or seek assistance from NHS 111 if:
Your baby is under six months old and has symptoms of whooping coughYou or your child have a severe cough that is worseningYou’ve been in contact with someone with whooping cough and you’re pregnant
Source
