'She deteriorated so quickly' ...devastation over baby's death from whooping cough

THE shattered parents of a newborn girl who died of whooping cough last week have described her final days as "unreal".

- Allister Hagger

Evie-Grace was just 15 days old when she succumbed to the illness, which has claimed five babies' lives amid a resurgence this year.

The mum and dad shared their story in the hope it will help others to recognise the symptoms of the bacterial infection.

Reece Lewis, sitting next to his girlfriend Caitlin, told how their baby's condition "deteriorated so quickly" just a week after she was born.

He said she was "perfectly fine" for her first few days but went rapidly downhill after becoming infected with whooping cough, which is also known as pertussis.

Infections are cyclical, peaking every three to five years, and in the first four months of 2024 there have been three times more cases than in the whole of last year.