leaflet, 'A child with whooping cough', informing about the spread of whooping cough, one of approximately 700 health education leaflets produced for the Central Council for Health Education (1927-69), Health Education Council (1969-84) and Health Education Authority (1984-98).

Whooping cough is named after the sound of the cough this disease produces. The highly contagious disease can be fatal in babies under six months old. Spread by infected droplets from the coughs, early isolation of children with whooping cough is recommended. An attack gives a person life-long immunity. The leaflet informs about the symptoms of whooping cough and how to get help.

Immunisation against whooping cough was introduced in the United Kingdom in the 1950s. Vaccines are given at two, three and four months old and before children start school. As part of the administration of the so-called triple vaccine (also including diphtheria and tetanus), this regime caused alarm when reports of brain damage emerged in the 1970s.