If Winslet's daughter is confirmed as having contracted the bacterial infection, she is one of only a handful of babies who suffer from whooping cough in Britain. In 1999, there were just 303 reported cases in England and Wales among children under the age of one. In 1982, there were 5,887 cases. The reason for the dwindling incidence of whooping cough is an effective immunisation programme. Initial symptoms include sneezing, runny nose and a low grade fever.
Doctors are keen to emphasise the efficacy of the vaccine.
This may have rubbed off on the whooping cough vaccine as well. Many people refused to allow their babies to have the vaccination, and conservative estimates suggest that this scare led to 70-100 extra deaths in Britain. The vaccine does cause some unpleasant minor side effects, such as fever or crying, but there is no evidence that it has serious long-term health implications. When a child is not immunised, transmission of the disease is relatively straightforward. Whooping cough is spread by direct contact with discharges from the nose and throat of infected individuals.