‘I can’t seem to fight this off’: readers’ experiences of whooping cough

Five babies in England have died after being diagnosed with whooping cough, health officials have said, amid a sharp rise in cases.

More than 2,700 whooping cough cases have been reported across England so far in 2024 – more than three times the number recorded in the whole of last year. UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) figures show 2,793 cases were reported to the end of March, compared with 858 cases for the whole of 2023.

Scores of people shared their experiences with the Guardian, with many describing hacking coughs that left them feeling as if they couldn’t breathe. Some were prescribed antibiotics to help with the infection but many said that when they saw their GPs, it was too late for a course of medication to be effective. Others expressed their concern over the lack of testing and official diagnosis.

With cases of whooping cough on the rise in adults and children, four people share their experience of the “100-day cough”.

‘It’s like drowning in phlegm’

For Rachi Weerasinghe, 56, who is still coughing two months on from becoming ill, the sensation when he can’t catch his breath feels as if he’s “drowning in phlegm”.

His symptoms started in the middle of March while he was commuting into London, where he works as a management consultant. “I felt like I was coming down with something nasty,” said Weerasinghe, who lives in Hinchley Wood, Surrey.

A week later after being “hit by an illness like no other” with hot and cold sweats, a dizzying fever and coughing fits that would “sometimes last 15 minutes”, he booked a doctor’s appointment.

“I ended up seeing the GP three times – each time a different person,” he said. “I was prescribed a round of antibiotics only to return a week later for another set of stronger ones. The last person I saw said it might be whooping cough and I was given another course of antibiotics, this time azithromycin.

“I have arthritis and am immunocompromised, so it’s quite routine for me to go to the GP with a chest infection. I’m normally quite healthy and can manage through exercise, but I can’t seem to fight this off and still have some difficulty speaking.”

‘We’re still waiting for the results’

Anna Zueva, 45, from Shipley, West Yorkshire, mentioned her “worry” over her children having whooping cough as well as herself. Her son and daughter, 13 and seven, both developed symptoms after her own started on 10 March.

Zueva, who works as a senior lecturer in management at the University of Huddersfield, and has asthma, said she saw a nurse at her local surgery who told her that her illness was “probably viral” and medication would be “of no use”. Over the next two weeks her symptoms worsened and she saw her GP, who said there was a potential for whooping cough and prescribed her antibiotics.

On the same day her children started experiencing a slight fever that went away quickly, followed by a worsening cough. With the family travelling on 28 March to see elderly relatives in Northern Ireland, Zueva started “panicking” that the children might be infectious.

The evening before they were due to leave she called 111 and was given an 8am telephone appointment with her GP the next day. “They agreed to prescribe my children antibiotics over the phone,” she said. “Obtaining these from pharmacists, however, was a challenge as most were out of stock due to supply issues.

“For my son we managed to get them at the third pharmacy we visited. For my daughter, who needed a special dose because of her age and weight, we stopped at six or seven. In the end we got them from a pharmacy [after we arrived] in Northern Ireland.”

On the same day she received a call from a government health agency saying they would be sent test kits for the children to check for whooping cough.

“[The kits] didn’t arrive till mid-April and even though we sent them back immediately, we’re still waiting for the results. The preventive measures against something as terrible as whooping cough seem to be nonexistent, and there doesn’t seem to be a facility for timely tests,” Zueva said.

“My children only developed a moderate cough. I think it helped that they were vaccinated and I think it’s hugely important that people are. I would love to see boosters made available to everyone, though.”

‘I collapsed and had a black eye for two weeks’

Like Zueva, Michael Angove was told he would be sent a whooping cough test kit but “it didn’t show up”. His symptoms had started in early March when he had a “tickly cough” and his chest began “feeling raw”.

During the third week the cough started to wake him up in the middle of the night. “One time I woke up and tried to get up as I struggled to inhale,” said the 51-year-old, who lives in Devizes, Wiltshire.

“The very next moment I was coming around on the floor with blood on my head and on the carpet. I didn’t know if I was in a dream, but later realised I had collapsed on to the bedstead and hit my brow. The damage was superficial but I had a severe looking black eye for two weeks. It was terrifying.”

On the same day Angove called his GP and mentioned that his neighbour had similar symptoms. He was referred to a local walk-in centre later that day and he said the doctor “knew exactly” what he was describing, and prescribed antibiotics. “He said it was whooping cough and the government would send me a test kit so I could provide a sample in order to get a formal diagnosis.”

Two weeks later, after the test had not arrived, he followed up with his GP surgery “who couldn’t explain” what had happened to the test. He was provided with a number to call but “all [my] calls were left unanswered – they just rang and rang”.

“My care was very good but I feel the official numbers for this year won’t be accurate because I didn’t get a test,” Angove said. “I know so many people here who have had whooping cough symptoms for 60 to 90 days who might not have been tested. I’m still waiting, nearly two months on.”

‘I said to the consultant I thought I had whooping cough and he didn’t seem to take me seriously’

For some readers, the concern has been whether they have whooping cough or not.

On 20 February after coming into contact with a client who was coughing, Joanne Noton, 43, a personal trainer from north-east Lincolnshire, developed a “chesty cough with phlegm”. A week later the cough became “uncontrollable”, and she went to a GP who prescribed amoxicillin for a suspected chest infection.

During this time she developed the “distinctive whoop” and had to cancel her classes. In the evenings she began vomiting due to the “harshness” of the coughing, and by week four, she went to her GP with severe abdominal pain.

“He sent me to A&E and [I waited] for three hours,” she said. “There were other people who were violently coughing and holding sick bowls. They thought I had a bowel blockage but a scan showed I had a rib cartilage fracture from excessive coughing.

“I said to the consultant I thought I had whooping cough and he didn’t seem to take me seriously. It was almost as if what I said wasn’t valid.”

In April, after two months of coughing and a chest X-ray showing no signs of infection, Noton noticed she was losing her breath “really quickly” after a burst of activity. “I went to see a nurse and she believes I have the onset of asthma as a result of whooping cough, even though my original diagnosis was bronchitis,” she said.

“I am a very fit person, as it’s part of my job, so all of this came as a shock. I feel better in myself now and am back to working and exercising, but I’m still coughing. I feel a bit like I’ve not been listened to and I wish I pushed more to get tested.”