11 babies died of the illness in the UK last winter
A new vaccine is being developed in response to the UK experiencing its worst whooping cough outbreak in four decades in 2024. The illness, which causes severe coughing fits in patients, poses a significant risk to the young and elderly.
In an effort to prevent a similar outbreak to the one that occurred last winter, the Government is initiating a national clinical trial for a nasal spray, which would be the first vaccine capable of eliminating whooping cough bacteria from the nose and throat.
Preliminary trials of the new vaccine, named BPZE1, indicate it may halt the spread of the infection. At present, the NHS provides an injectable vaccine to pregnant women to safeguard unborn babies, but this does not prevent individuals from carrying and transmitting the bacteria.
Whooping cough is highly contagious, with approximately 15,000 cases reported in England in 2024, a dramatic increase from 856 the previous year. The outbreak last year resulted in the deaths of 11 infants.
An additional 11 fatalities were recorded among older individuals, predominantly over 60 years old, all of whom had multiple causes of death documented, reports the Mirror. Individuals infected with whooping cough remain contagious for up to three weeks after the onset of coughing.
Early Signs
The initial symptoms of infection resemble those of a common cold, such as a runny nose and sore throat. However, after about a week, these can progress into bouts of coughing that last several minutes and are typically more severe at night.
Young infants may also produce a distinctive ‘whoop’ – a gasp for breath between coughs. However, some adults and young infants don’t produce this distinctive sound, which can make the condition more difficult to identify.
Symptoms
A severe cough is a primary indicator of whooping cough, with coughing fits that can persist for minutes and may result in vomiting or a flushed face.
According to the NHS, whooping cough tends to be less serious in older children and adults, though the persistent coughing may cause complications including tender ribs, hernia, ear infections and urinary incontinence when coughing.
Adults may “become very red in the face” and the cough can persist for several weeks or months.
Critical Phase
Breathing difficulties represent the main concern, and for babies there’s a risk of respiratory failure. The NHS website states that children “may have difficulty breathing after a coughing bout and may turn blue or grey (young infants)”. It further cautions that patients “may bring up a thick mucus, which can make you vomit”.
Infants under 12 months with whooping cough face heightened risks of complications such as dehydration, breathing problems, pneumonia and seizures.
When to dial 999
After the significant whooping cough surge in 2024, infection numbers are considerably lower this year. NHS England figures reveal there were 896 cases between January and June, compared to 15,153 during the same timeframe last year.
The Champion-1 study, which tested the vaccine developed by ILiAD Biotechnologies, involved 53 adults and its findings were published in The Lancet Microbe journal. If these results are validated in further trials and the new vaccine gets approval, it could be administered to both adults and children.
This new trial has received backing from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), a body funded by the Department of Health and Social Care.
Professor Robert Read, who led the study at the NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre, stated: “This is the first time a whooping cough vaccine has been shown to prevent the bacteria from colonising the nose and throat in humans. That could represent a big step forward in stopping the spread of the disease.”
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