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Whooping Cough

Volume 87: debated on Tuesday 26 November 1985

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asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) how many children were vaccinated against whooping cough in each year since 1974 and to date; and if he will make a statement;(2) if he will launch a publicity campaign on whooping cough and the case for vaccination.

The information requested is given in the table:

Children under age 16 completing primary courses of immunisation against whooping cough: England
YearNumber of children
1974*428,300
1975*247,900
1976*240,600
1977191,899
1978250,250
1980285,561
1981320,496
1982384,827
1983405,744
1984391,699
*Includes estimated numbers for one Area Health Authority.
The Department has provided additional funding of £483,000 to the Health Education Council to allow it to co-ordinate a national campaign. The campaign was launched in September and will run for the expected period of the whooping cough epidemic.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many children have contracted whooping cough in each year since 1974 and to date.

The latest available figures on notifications of whooping cough are shown in the table.

Corrected number of notifications of whooping cough in 0–14 age-group 1974–1985 England and Wales
YearNumber
197415,677
19758,514
19763,750

Year

Number

197716,857
197862,881
197929,512
198020,301
198118,728
198263,093
198318,466
19845,263
1985*15,261

* 1 January to 15 November (provisional).

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the contraction rate of whooping cough.

Notification rates for whooping cough for 1974–1984 are given in the table.

Corrected number of notifications of whooping cough per 100,000

population, 1974–1984, all ages

England and Wales
YearRate
197432·8
197518·0
19767·9
197735·3
1978133·4
197962·2
198042·6
198139·1
1982132·7
198338·9
198411·1