01 May 2024 , 17:50
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Kids are at threat from a drug-resistant '100-day cough" which poses a threat to numerous places around the world.
The new strain of whooping cough has been discovered by health experts which is resistant to antibiotic treatment and vaccinations. Research, which has as not yet been peer-reviewed, says the disease which has mutated, poses a "global" health threat.
Known as the '100-day cough', cases were reported in Europe, Asia, and the US this year. And since January whooping cough cases have risen in the UK and Europe resulting in the largest surge since 2012. The US also recorded a small number of cases in New York City, San Francisco and Hawaii.
More than 15,000 cases were reported in January this year, which scientists say is a 15-fold increase compared to the same period last year. It is not uncommon for spikes of the condition - often sparked by either Bordetella pertussis or Bordetella parapertussis bacteria - to happen every three or four years.
More than 15,000 cases of whooping cough were reported in January this year (Getty Images/iStockphoto)The unusually high number of worldwide cases has weakened immunity among populations to allow it to evade vaccine-induced protection. Authors of the study said: "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."
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A surge in a new strain of the virus called MR-MT28 has emerged in the country which is "uniquely capable of causing substantial infections among older children and vaccinated individuals". The virus is also resistant to antibiotics including azithromycin, clarithromycin, and erythromycin
Samples of the disease from patients who ere admitted to the Children’s Hospital of Fudan University (CHFU), in Shanghai, with whooping cough between June 2016 and March 2024. An estimated 88% of people were vaccinated this year compared to just 31 % who contracted the illness in previous years. Whooping cough usually affects younger children, but the new study found 84% who caught the bug in 2024 were older children.
Whooping cough usually affects younger children (Getty Images)The Mirror reported last month how parents were sent whooping cough warning letters by the government amid a rise in cases of the illness which can last for months. The letter, sent by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), warned of an increase in cases of the problem, also known as pertussis, in children across the regions of Lincolnshire and the East Midlands.
Symptoms can include a cough lasting several weeks following initial cold-like symptoms, prolonged bouts of coughing, post-coughing retching or vomiting a 'whoop' sound on breathing in and rib pain. In the letter, the UKHSA gave advice to parents in the letter for if their child experiences any symptoms
It reads: "If your child has any of the symptoms described above, we advise you to seek medical advice from a GP and take along this letter. Your GP may then arrange to test for whooping cough."