ALMOST a third of whooping cough cases in Worcestershire over the past five recorded weeks have been in Malvern Hills. 

There have been 41 confirmed cases of pertussis, more commonly known as whopping cough, across the county between Monday, April 8 and Sunday, May 12. 

Of those cases, 12 have come from the Malvern Hills- 29.3 per cent of the County's total. 

By contrast, there were no confirmed cases in Malvern Hills over the previous five weeks.

In the last recorded week, which began on Monday, May 6, there were four whopping cough cases- the second highest of any local authority in the West Midlands over those seven days. 

Malvern is also the area with the highest number of whooping cough cases in the County over the past five weeks.

In neighbouring Worcester, there have only been three confirmed cases of whooping cough over the past five weeks, while just four have been registered in Wychavon over the same period. 

Figures were released by the UK Health Security Agency detailing weekly figures for every local authority in the country. 

There has been a large outbreak of the '100-day cough' in 2024, with 
2,793 confirmed cases so far this year. 

The illness can take more than three months to recover, and although it can affect anyone, younger children are particularly at risk. 

Symptoms of whooping cough develop around seven to ten days after infection.

Whooping cough resembles common cold at the beginning, with symptoms including runny nose and nasal congestion. 

Other symptoms include red, watery eyes, low grade fever, and a cough.

As the disease progresses, symptoms can develop into an uncontrollable cough, a high-pitched intake of breath after a cough, vomiting, extreme fatigue and an accumulation of mucus in the throat.