Whooping cough vaccine push after two babies die

The latest figures for England show 2,591 confirmed cases of whooping cough in May.

Of the nine UK babies who have died since November after contracting whooping cough, two were born in Shropshire, prompting local health bosses to encourage vaccine uptake amid a spike of cases in England and Wales.

The bacterial infection can be particularly harmful for infants, with latest figures for England showing 2,591 confirmed cases in May, with a total of 7,599 since January.

At county level, five to 10 cases are being reported per week, according to Vanessa Whatley, chief nursing officer at NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin.

She is asking mothers to ensure their babies are up to date with jabs.

"Because young babies can't be vaccinated until they're eight weeks old, we encourage pregnant women to get vaccinated during pregnancy," Ms Whatley said.

"The next step is to be vaccinated as soon as your baby is eight weeks old, that will be called in by your GP surgery.

"There's a vaccine at eight weeks, 12 weeks and 16 weeks, and children get a booster before they go to school as well."

She added rural areas had seen slightly higher cases than urban ones but while the reasons for that were unclear, it could be down, she said, to higher testing numbers in the former.

Details of the two babies who died cannot be disclosed for confidentiality reasons.

However, they were born at Telford's Princess Royal Hospital and the BBC understands they contracted the illness once they had left.

"While I can't comment on individual cases, our thoughts and condolences are with those families that have tragically lost their baby," Ms Whatley said.

Whooping cough - also known as the 100-day cough and by its medical name, pertussis - is a bacterial infection that can affect the lungs and cause prolonged bouts of coughing.