Whooping cough rates have soared with the first three months of 2012 seeing more than half the total number of cases in 2011, the Health Protection Agency (HPA) has warned

A total of 665 cases were reported to the HPA between January and March 2012 in England and Wales, marking a stark rise on the 1,040 cases in the whole of 2011, with clusters reported in schools, universities and healthcare settings across the country.

The news follows an outbreak of measles in Merseyside, emphasising the need for MMR vaccination, the HPA said.

The cases of whooping cough come amid a large-scale outbreak of measles in Merseyside	Patients turn to pharmacists as measles epidemic hits       Merseyside Patient information leaflet: whooping cough Worried about the MMR vaccination
	The majority of measles cases reported this year have been in unvaccinated patients. HPA head of immunisation Mary Ramsay said that uptake of the whooping cough vaccine is "very good", but urged parents to protect their children against measles by ensuring they have been immunised with two doses of MMR.

"The continued outbreak in the Merseyside area is a clear demonstration that measles can be a very serious illness," said Dr Ramsay.

"We cannot stress enough that measles is serious and in some cases it can be fatal. Delaying immunisation puts children at risk."