EXPERTS are warning about the rise of a strain of whooping cough that is highly resistant to vaccines and antibiotics.
The new research – which was published as a pre-print and has not yet been peer-reviewed – warns the mutated disease poses a “global” health threat.
Outbreaks of the ‘100-day cough’, as it’s otherwise known, were reported in Europe, Asia, and the US in 2024.
Since January, cases of whooping cough have risen sharply in the UK and Europe, the largest surge since 2012.
The US has reported small clusters in several areas, including New York City, San Francisco and Hawaii.
China logged more than 15,000 cases in January of this year, a 15-fold increase over the same period last year.
It’s usual for spikes of the illness, caused by either Bordetella pertussis or Bordetella parapertussis bacteria, to happen every three or four years.
Until now, experts have attributed the unusually high number of cases worldwide this year to weakened immunity across the population – a hangover from pandemic restrictions.
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But scientists from China believe it’s “more likely” virus has mutated to improve its ability to evade vaccine-induced protection.
“Pathogen evolution, rather than the widely accepted notion of waning immunity or ‘immunity debt’, is more likely the primary factor driving pertussis upsurge, age shift and vaccine escape,” say the authors, who tracked the disease.
The country is battling a surge in a new strain of the virus called MR-MT28, which appears to be “uniquely capable of causing substantial infections among older children and vaccinated individuals”.
It is also resistant to many antibiotics used to treat the infection, including azithromycin, clarithromycin, and erythromycin, they said.
Researchers analysed samples of the disease from patients admitted to the Children’s Hospital of Fudan University (CHFU), in Shanghai, with whooping cough between June 2016 and March 2024.
Around 88 per cent of people with the disease in 2024 were vaccinated, compared with just 31 per cent who caught the bug in previous years.
The disease usually affects younger children.
But according to the new study, some 84 per cent who caught the bug in 2024 were older children, up from just 10 per cent.
Full list of whooping cough symptoms
Whooping cough (pertussis) is a bacterial infection of the lungs and breathing tubes.
Symptoms tend to be similar to a cold, such as a runny nose and sore throat (a high temperature is uncommon).
After about a week, you or your child:
- Will get coughing bouts that last for a few minutes and are worse at night
- May make a “whoop” sound – a gasp for breath between coughs (young babies and some adults may not “whoop”)
- May have difficulty breathing after a coughing bout and may turn blue or grey (young infants)
- May bring up a thick mucus, which can make you vomit
- May become very red in the face (more common in adults)
The cough may last for several weeks or months hence the term “100-day cough”.
Source: NHS
The authors said the new disease caused “significantly milder clinical symptoms” than its predecessor and led to fewer hospitalisations.
There is no evidence to suggest that MT28 is the strain of whooping cough that is circulating in parts of the UK.
However, the pre-print warns MT28 “potentially poses a high global spread risk” and calls for urgent action – including global surveillance and further research – to halt the spread of the new stain.
GET JABBED
There is no evidence to suggest the vaccine-resistant variant seen in China is in the UK.
Getting the whooping cough jab is still the best way to keep you and your family safe from the bug.
This is because whooping cough can be extremely serious – fatal even – especially for children and babies who haven’t been vaccinated.
The condition spreads very easily and can sometimes cause serious problems, including rib fractures, pneumonia and seizures.
Whooping cough can affect people of all ages but for very young infants, it can be particularly serious
Dr Gayatri Amirthalingam
The NHS notes that hernia, sore ribs, middle ear infections, and urinary incontinence can also arise.
The UKHSA has previously warned that an increase in cases in 2024 will occur during a steady decline in the uptake of the vaccine against whooping cough in pregnant women and children.
Parents have been urged to check that their child is protected, and the UKHSA is reminding mums-to-be to get the jab so their babies are protected at birth.
It is offered as part of the six-in-one jab when babies are eight, 12 and 16 weeks old.
The number of two-year-olds who completed their six-in-one vaccinations as of September 2023 is 92.9 per cent, compared with 96.3 per cent in March 2014.
Vaccinating pregnant women is highly effective in protecting babies from birth until they can receive their own vaccines
Dr Gayatri Amirthalingam
Dr Gayatri Amirthalingam, UKHSA consultant epidemiologist, said: “Whooping cough can affect people of all ages but for very young infants, it can be particularly serious.
“Vaccinating pregnant women is highly effective in protecting babies from birth until they can receive their own vaccines.
“Parents can also help protect their children by ensuring they receive their vaccines at the right time or catching up as soon as possible if they have missed any.
“If you’re unsure, please check your child’s red book or get in touch with your GP surgery.”
AREAS AT RISK
The Notification of Infectious Diseases Report (NOIDS), which tracks suspected infectious disease cases weekly, shows where outbreaks are likely happening.
It does not specify the ages of those suspected to have the bug, though children often fare the worst.
The South West saw 125 suspected cases last week, followed closely by the South East with 113.
The big smoke scooted in as the third most infected area, with 104 infections.
Parents can also help protect their children by ensuring they receive their vaccines at the right time or catching up as soon as possible if they have missed any
Dr Gayatri Amirthalingam
In fourth and fifth place came the East of England with 98 and the East Midlands with 93.
Doctors in Wales reported 84 cases, putting them in sixth place.
Read more on the Scottish Sun
Yorkshire and Humber and the North West followed with 62 and 61 cases respectively, putting them in seventh and eighth place.
The West Midlands and the North East came at the bottom of the table, with 44 and 40 cases – making them the areas least affected by the current outbreak.
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