PARENTS have been urged to ensure their children are vaccinated against whooping cough following fears that the disease is making a comeback in the county. Three young children from Medway needed hospital treatment last month after being struck down with the debilitating disease.

As a result, the Kent Communicable Disease Control Unit has warned parents to make sure their children are vaccinated. The dangerous bug can leave sufferers gasping for breath.

There was only one reported case of whooping cough in Kent this year up until the three new cases were reported in September.

Dr Mathi Chandrakumar, clinical director of communicable disease control in Kent, said: "Whooping cough is a very serious disease and notoriously difficult to treat. It is an exhausting illness that often lasts for months causing considerable distress to both the child and family.

"I strongly advise parents to have their children vaccinated against whooping cough, which is given as part of the programme of vaccines beginning at the age of two months."

Whooping cough is a bacterial infection that at first seems like a cold. Sufferers may have a runny nose and a hacking cough at night and during the day. Coughing fits can begin a week or two later, with up to 15 coughs in a row followed by a high-pitched whoop as sufferers gasp for air.

Sufferers can develop complications with 15 per cent of infants under six-months-old developing pneumonia and one per cent suffering brain damage.

A leaflet on whooping cough infection is available from the Kent Communicable Disease Control Unit on 01622 713108 or 01304 222268.