A study published by the BMJ today has found that nearly 40% of school age children in the United Kingdom who visit their family doctor with a persistent cough have evidence of whooping cough infection, even though they have been fully immunised.
These results suggest that whooping cough is wide-spread among young children in the UK, with important implications for clinical practice and immunisation policy, say the authors.
But how serious is this disease and how can it be recognised? Martha Kearney is joined by Professor Elisabeth Miller, head of the immunisation department of the Health Protection Agency.
