Whooping cough endemic among UK children

Whooping cough may be endemic among young children in Britain where nearly 40 percent of youngsters who visit their family doctor with a persistent cough have evidence of the infection, researchers reported Friday.

After studying 172 children who had been treated for a cough lasting more than two weeks, they found that 64 showed signs of whooping cough although nearly 86 percent had been immunized against the illness.

“Previous research in several countries has shown that pertussis is an endemic disease among adolescents and adults,” said Anthony Harnden of Oxford University.

“Our research suggests that in the United Kingdom pertussis is also endemic among younger school-age children.”

Whooping cough, also known as pertussis, is a contagious bacterial infection of the respiratory tract, easily spread by coughing and sneezing.

Most children are vaccinated against the disease, which was once a major cause of lung and brain damage and even death. It is still a serious health problem in poor countries. In 2002, an estimated 294,000 people worldwide died of the illness, according to the World Health Organization.

Research has shown that neither infection nor immunization offers life-long immunity against pertussis.

Harnden and his team, who reported the findings in the British Medical Journal, said family doctors should be aware that any child with a persistent cough could have whooping cough.

Children with pertussis have a cough that lasts for about 16 weeks, Harnden added.

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