Parents turned away from buying whooping cough treatment due to shortages
Five babies have died of the disease this year.
Pharmacists have warned crucial antibiotics used to treat whooping cough are in short supply amid the biggest outbreak in more than a decade.
Five babies have died of the disease this year, and the number of confirmed cases is already three times higher than the total seen in 2023.
Around 3,000 cases have been confirmed so far and officials are worried about the spread.
Dr Leyla Hannbeck, chief executive of the Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies, said patients are being turned away due to the surge in demand for treatment.
The liquid form of clarithromycin has been low in supply for months.
It is one of the main drugs recommended for children.
Dr Hannbeck told The Mail on Sunday: ‘We have had an ongoing problem with the supply of common antibiotics for two years now and this current epidemic of whooping cough is putting an additional strain on supplies.
What is whooping cough?
Whooping cough, officially known as pertussis, is a bacterial infection of the lungs and breathing tubes.
The infection can lead to a prolonged cough – hence why it’s often called the ‘100 day cough’.
In children, the illness causes them to make the characteristic ‘whoop’ sound – caused by a gasp for breath – that makes it easily identifiable.
It can cause youngsters to stop breathing or have seizures. Young infants may turn blue or grey after a coughing bout.
In adults, pertussis can seem like just another persistent cough, with the symptoms lasting for 10 weeks or more.
Cases usually start with a runny nose or sore throat before after a week becoming minutes-long coughing fits.
People may also experience breathing difficulties, become red in the face or bring up thick mucus from coughing which can lead to vomiting.
People diagnosed with the illness are advised to stay at home and not go to work, school or nursery until 48 hours after starting antibiotics or three weeks after symptoms start.
Is whooping cough contagious to adults?
Whooping cough is very infectious.
As as soon as they get cold-like symptoms, a person can spread the bacteria Bordetella pertussis easily to others.
‘While the shortage isn’t widespread, there are sporadic problems getting hold of these drugs in pockets across the country. No-one wants to send a mother and a child home without antibiotics.
‘But, increasingly, pharmacists are in a situation where they’re having to do just that.’
Patients have been asked by some GP surgeries to wear face masks after a rise in whooping cough cases.
The Covid-style measures have returned after the death of five babies from whooping cough this year, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) confirmed.
Parkside Family Practice in Reading, Berkshire, told all patients they must wear a mask again.
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