icScotland - 1,100 people have whooping cough
icScotland logo
icScotland News Sport icHomes
Search icScotland for:
Scottish News

1,100 people have whooping cough

 

The number of cases of whooping cough continues to rise, with almost 1,100 reported to GPs since the start of the year.

The condition causes intense bouts of coughing and can last for three months. It is a cyclical disease with the number of cases peaking every three to four years.

Scotland is experiencing the worst outbreak of whooping cough since the 1980s. Case numbers have now reached 1,084 for this year compared with 46 over the same period last year, according to Health Protection Scotland.

Commenting on the figures, Conservative health spokesman Jackson Carlaw said: "We may consider infections like whooping cough to be diseases of the past, but that clearly is not the case in Scotland right now. It is a thoroughly miserable illness to endure.

"Given that there has been a real spike in infections, we have to find out why that is, understand what is behind it and what we need to do stop it becoming an epidemic. Investigating which groups of people are being affected would be a good way of doing this to ensure we can stop this rise and ensure it isn't repeated."

 
Official Line-up for T in the Park
Police hunt for missing Cabaret Voltaire boss Martin Gordon
WEATHER WARNING SUGGESTS FLOODING COULD HIT SCOTLAND
Hey Mario, Wii broke the TV!

Top Top

Back Back

E-mail this article to a friend

Printable VersionPrintable version

 

 


Copyright and Trade Mark Notice
© owned by or licensed to Scottish & Universal Newspapers Limited 2013.
icScotland™ is a trade mark of Scottish & Universal Newspapers Limited.
Please read our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Statement before using this site.

 
Advertisements
 
Jobs in Scotland:




 
 Quick Links
  • What's On
  • TV Listings
  • Horoscopes
  • Joke of the Day