A DRAMATIC rise in whooping cough has prompted a call for all pregnant women in Cornwall to be vaccinated to protect their babies.
The Government has launched a temporary vaccine programme in response to concerns over a sharp rise in cases nationally, particularly in the South West.
Health Protection Agency (HPA) figures show that from January to August this year, 4,791 cases in all ages were reported – four times more than the whole of 2011, at 1,118 cases.
In Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, there have been 48 cases reported in all ages from January to August this year. In 2011, there were fewer than five cases reported across the county.
Nine babies have died in the UK this year as a result of whooping cough, with 302 cases of the disease in children under three months old – more than double the 115 cases reported in 2011, according to the HPA.
Whooping cough is caused by a bacterium and the symptoms are a bad cough with a noticeable 'whoop' sound after each cough.
"We are asking all women in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly who are 28 weeks pregnant or more to contact their GP to get the vaccination to protect them and their babies against this highly contagious disease," said Felicity Owen, director of public health for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
"The vaccine will boost the short-term immunity passed on by pregnant women to their newborn babies, who normally cannot be vaccinated themselves until they are two months old. It will also provide protection for them while in the womb if their mum contracts the disease."
Letters will go out inviting eligible women to contact their surgery to arrange vaccination.
The vaccine is safe to have while pregnant and can be administered at the same time as a flu vaccine.