What's going on with whooping cough in the UK?

[FlaminNoraImPregnantPanda]

Can anyone explain the problem to me? I'm not in the UK but want to travel back once my baby is a few weeks old, but not if it's going to put him at risk.

Is the problem that uptake has been too low over the years so now unvaccinated babies aren't protected by herd immunity? Is this why it's being offered to pregnant women?

I'm in Sweden where uptake has always been pretty much 100%. There doesn't appear to be a problem here so I won't get offered vaccination (although I did have it as a child).

I think the cause of the outbreak isn't entirely understood - we have cyclical peaks in whooping cough but this time it is higher than usual. Uptake of the vaccination is good, upwards of 90% I think, but babies don't have it until they are 8 weeks, so there is a period when they have no protection.There's some good info here www.nhs.uk/conditions/whooping-cough/pages/introduction.aspx

Lots of whooping cough around at the moment, mainly because the vaccine doesn't offer 100% guaranteed immunity and the protection it does offer isn't permanent.
I've had the vaccine, mainly because I have 2 school age kids and have little control over what bugs they bring home from school and infect me with.

I know several adults who have had whooping cough this year too.. Seems to be a lot of it about.