HSE issues urgent warning for Irish parents about ‘serious and even fatal’ disease as cases continue to rise

HSE bosses have revealed there were 79 cases of pertussis or whooping cough in Ireland since the start of the year up to May 5, compared with two in the same period in 2023.

The potentially fatal illness has seen an increase in cases, with 11 confirmed last week, according to the Health Protection Surveillance Center (HPSC) report on infectious diseases.

Three patients were hospitalized with whooping cough last week, a decrease of six from the previous week.

HPSC figures report 769 cases of the severe disease in Northern Ireland so far this year, which led HSE officials to urge parents to ensure their babies and children avail of scheduled vaccinations.

There were just cases of pertussis between 2021 and 2023.

Increased levels of whooping cough are linked to the decrease of primary childhood immunization since the Covid-19 pandemic, including measles, mumps, meningitis, polio, and diphtheria re-emerging due to the lack of vaccination.

Whooping cough is a highly infectious bacterial disease involving the respiratory tract in children, making it hard to breathe.

The disease was almost eradicated in the 1940s when vaccines became widely available.

It can last up to three months and is most serious in babies under 12 months.

The HSE said that while the number of whooping cough cases remains “relatively low”, there has been a “steady increase” in 2024.

The infectious disease is spread by person-to-person contact, and the best way to protect against whooping cough is by getting vaccinated.

Symptoms of pertussis include:

• Common cold
• Sneezing
• Runny nose
• Low-grade fever
• Sister, watery eyes
• Coughing, violently and rapidly, until all the air has left the lungs and a person is forced to inhale, causing a high-pitched whoop sound

According to the HSE, complications from pertussis can be serious and even fatal, with two people dying from pneumonia or brain damage.

Almost all deaths are in children under the age of six months.

In young infants, the typical ‘whoop’ may never develop, and coughing spasms may be followed by periods of apnea and episodes of cessation of breathing.

Young children are most severely affected by pertussis, the HSE has said.

Scott Walkin, Mayo GP, told RTÉ’s News at One that whooping cough “tends to go through phases of higher numbers and lower numbers, usually every three to five years.”

He added that the disease is not dangerous for people “protected with vaccines.”