Warning to Brits heading to holiday hotspot as highly contagious ‘100-day cough’ leaves 2 dead and over 50 infected

COUNTRIES across Europe are battling a surge of highly contagious whooping cough cases, among them a popular holiday spot for Brits.

The illness – dubbed the ‘100 day cough’ – has resulted in two deaths in Greece, according to data from its National Public Health Organization (EODY).

Fifty-four whooping cough cases have been recorded so far this year, with 32 of them in children and teens and 11 affecting babies under the age of one, the newspaper Ekathethimerini reported.

One adult with underlying health conditions succumbed to the infection, as did a newborn.

Whooping cough is a super contagious bacterial infection affecting the lungs and breathing tubes that can cause serious complications in some – the NHS recommends that babies and children be vaccinated against it, as well as pregnant mums.

Its first symptoms resemble a cold, before progressing to coughing bouts that can leave sufferers winded and red-faced.

They might make a  “whoop” sound as they gasp for breath between coughs, hence the name whooping cough.

Some may have the cough for several weeks or months.

In response to rising whooping cough cases in Greece, health minister Eirini Agapidaki urged people to get vaccinated against the illness.

Deaths have also been in other European countries.

According to the European Centre fro Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), almost all of them have been in babies younger than three months old.

The health watchdog flagged rising whooping cough case numbers in a recent Communicable Disease Threats Report, spanning from Croatia to Norway, the Netherlands and Spain.

“Pertussis (as whooping cough is also known) is an endemic disease worldwide, even in the presence of a programme with high vaccination coverage, with peaks in disease spread every three-to-five years,” the ECDC explained.

“The current increase is potentially linked to lower circulation during the Covid-19 pandemic, combined with sub-optimal vaccination uptake in certain groups,” it went on.

As in Greece, children and young teens have borne the brunt of rising infection across Europe.

“Infants and young children who are too young to be fully vaccinated have also been affected, including several deaths,” the ECDC said.

Czechia reported a record-breaking amount of cases this year, the largest in the past sixty years.

It reported 3,101 pertussis cases between January and March 17 2024, including one death.

Meanwhile, Croatia reported 6,261 cases of pertussis from January 2023 to March 15 this year.

Denmark recorded 822 whooping cough cases up until March this year, Norway 707 and the Nertherlands 1,749.

As for Spain, it reported 5,242 cases as of March this year.

Health officials last month raised concerns over a rise of whooping cough infections in England, with 552 cases confirmed in January alone.

Parents were urged to check that their child is protected, and the UK Health Security Agency reminded mums-to-be to get the jab so their babies are protected at birth.

It is offered as part of the six-in-one jab when babies are eight, 12 and 16 weeks old.

But vaccine rates among children in England have fallen, as the number of two-year-olds who completed their six-in-one vaccinations as of September 2023 was 92.9 per cent, compared with 96.3 per cent in March 2014.

Dr Gayatri Amirthalingam, UKHSA consultant epidemiologist, said: “Whooping cough can affect people of all ages but for very young infants, it can be particularly serious.

“However, vaccinating pregnant women is highly effective in protecting babies from birth until they can receive their own vaccines.

“Parents can also help protect their children by ensuring they receive their vaccines at the right time or catching up as soon as possible if they have missed any.

“If you’re unsure, please check your child’s red book or get in touch with your GP surgery.”