Whooping cough vaccination call
HEALTH professionals in Shetland are calling on parents to ensure that their children are receiving the ‘pre-school booster’ vaccination after an increase of cases of whooping cough in the isles.
NHS Shetland said that whooping cough was very infectious and could cause severe illness in babies and young children.
Consultant in public health medicine, Dr Susan Laidlaw said whooping cough could be treated with antibiotics but vaccination was the most effective way to prevent spread of the disease.
“We usually have a good uptake of the 5 in 1 vaccine in Shetland each year, generally between 95 and 100 per cent. However in recent years, the uptake of the pre-school booster has been low.
“Recent figures show that only 78 per cent of the children who reached the age of five during 2011-12 had received their pre-school booster.
“This means that there are young children, and children going to school, in Shetland who are not fully protected against whooping cough.
“We know that whooping cough is circulating in Shetland and so they are at risk of catching the illness themselves, and also of passing it on to other children, especially babies who have not yet completed all their immunisations,” Dr Laidlaw said.
Early symptoms of whooping cough are much like an ordinary cold and may include a blocked or runny nose; sneezing; watering eyes; a dry, irritating cough; sore throat; slightly raised temperature and feeling generally unwell.
The 5 in 1 vaccine also protects against diphtheria, polio, Haemophilus influenzae type b and tetanus.
Further information on whooping cough, or pertussis, can be found on the NHS Inform website: www.nhsinform.co.uk/health-library/articles/w/whooping-cough/introduction
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