symptom

WITH chillier months fast approaching, Brits will be grappling with the many illnesses that like to circulate at high levels during winter.

One infection in particularly experts are raising alarm bells about is pertussis, or whooping cough, which they are warning can be fatal in young infants.

2

Whooping cough is a highly contagious bacterial infection affecting the lungs and airways that causes severe coughing fits, often ending in a ‘whooping’ sound as the person gasps for breath.

According to figures from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), cases have been rising since late 2023, with significant increases observed in 2024 and 2025.

This increase is part of a natural, cyclical pattern where cases peak every three to five years – with a peak being overdue after a period of very low numbers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

While in adults and older children the cough can be bothersome and last for months, whooping cough in young children can be life-threatening.

In the UK’s 2024 resurgence, infants under three months of age experienced the highest incidence and risk of severe complications, with 328 cases reported between January and June 2024.

This age group is particularly vulnerable due to their undeveloped immune systems.

In an article published in Pediatrics, experts strongly encourage getting vaccinated to protect against the illness.

According to leading author Caitlin Li, infectious disease specialist at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinburg School of Medicine, said whooping cough symptoms are different in infants.

Coughing bouts that last for a few minutes and make a ‘whoop’ sound is one of the main symptoms listed by the NHS.

But DrLi said there’s a key symptom to look out for in kids.

She said: “The characteristic whooping cough may be absent, but apnea, or breathing interruption, is common.”

Whooping cough in infants can also present with very high white blood cell count, which paediatricians might mistake for cancer or other non-infectious conditions.

Extremely high white blood cell counts in infants should prompt strong consideration of pertussis, according to the authors.

“Given that infants are at high risk for complications, pertussis vaccination of mothers during pregnancy is critical, as it protects newborns against this potentially fatal illness,” stressed Dr Li.

“Widespread vaccination is also an important tool to protect everyone.”

Babies under 12 months old with whooping cough have an increased chance of having problems such as dehydration, breathing difficulties, pneumonia, and seizures (fits), according to the NHS.

But in the UK, the whooping cough vaccine is routinely given as part of the 6-in-1 vaccine – for babies at eight, 12 and 16 weeks – and the 4-in-1 pre-school booster – for children aged three years four months.

2

People who are pregnant are also recommended to have the whooping cough vaccine.

You usually have it when you’re around 20 weeks pregnant to help protect your baby for the first few weeks of their life.

Rapid initiation of antibiotics is recommended for all patients with confirmed or suspected whooping cough.

If given early, this may improve symptoms, while later treatment is unlikely to impact symptoms, although it does reduce transmission.

The NHS also recommends some things you can do to help ease the symptoms of whooping cough – get plenty of rest, drink lots of fluids, and take paracetamol or ibuprofen if you or your child are uncomfortable

But it urges you call 999 or go to A&E if:

• your or your child’s lips, tongue, face or skin suddenly turn blue or grey (on black or brown skin this may be easier to see on the palms of the hands or the soles of the feet)
• you or your child are finding it hard to breathe properly (shallow breathing)
• you or your child have chest pain that’s worse when breathing or coughing – this could be a sign of pneumonia
• your child is having seizures (fits)

As he manages his own amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, actor Eric Dane is also advocating for the continuation of the Accelerating Access to Critical Therapies for ALS Act, which is set to expire in 2026.

The actor, along with the nonprofit organization I AM ALS, spoke with U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Dublin) on Tuesday about the importance of the legislation, which provides funding for research and gives patients early access to treatments.

“So often, it takes all this time for these people to be diagnosed. Well, then it precludes them from being a part of these clinical trials,” Dane told Swalwell. “That’s why ACT for ALS is so, so great, and it’s because it broadens the access for everybody.”

It took Dane nine months before he was diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. He announced his diagnosis in April.

Since then, the “Euphoria” actor has changed his approach to fighting his condition.

During an interview with “Good Morning America” in June, Dane expressed anger at the thought of being taken from his two young daughters. He said he was mad that history might repeat itself, as his father died when the “Grey’s Anatomy” alumnus was 7.

Months later, his frustration has turned into a fight to see his daughters’ lives play out.

“I want to see [my daughters], you know, graduate college, and get married and maybe have grandkids,” Dane told Swalwell. “You know, I want to be there for all that. So I’m going to fight to the last breath on this one.”

In the video posted on TikTok by the representative, Dane speaks with a slight slur but his words echo his fight to live on.

About 5,000 people are newly diagnosed with ALS each year in the U.S., according to the National ALS Registry. It affects the nerve cells in the brain that control movement, which eventually leads to the loss of the ability to speak, move, swallow and breathe.

Times staff writers Christie D’Zurilla and Kaitlyn Huamani contributed to this report.

Bella Hadid offered her social media followers an apology and an inside look at her recent hospital stay, sharing photos of herself wearing an oxygen mask and in bed with tubes hooked up to various parts of her body.

“I’m sorry I always go MIA I love you guys,” the 28-year-old model and activist captioned her Instagram carousel, shared Wednesday.

She posted snaps of quaint scenes of calm skies, golden sunsets and blooming flowers. But the photos posted in between captured a different tone: In one photo Hadid crouches on the floor in the corner of an elevator. Dark red fluid can be seen coursing through medical tubing in another, and in a selfie Hadid’s eyes are puffy and teary.

Though she did not reveal which ailment landed her in the hospital, her mother Yolanda Hadid left a hint in the comments section, where she praised her daughter as a “Lyme warrior.” In a separate post of her own, mother shared much more about her youngest daughter’s health.

“As you will understand watching my Bella struggle in silence, has cut the deepest core of hopelessness inside me,” the elder Hadid said on Instagram. She shared photos of her daughter’s hospital stay.

The “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star and former model has also been vocal about her own battle against Lyme disesase, notably in her 2017 memoir “Believe Me: My Battle With the Invisible Disability of Lyme Disease.”

She added: “To my beautiful Bellita: You are relentless and courageous. No child is suppose to suffer in their body with an incurable chronic disease.”

Bella Hadid, sister of model Gigi Hadid, previously disclosed her battle with Lyme disease and other chronic illnesses in 2023, when she shared photos from another hospital stay.

At the time, she shared photos of medical documents dated February 2014 that disclosed her struggles with numerous of health problems, including fatigue, attention deficit disorder, memory disturbances, depression, sleep disorders, headaches, disequilibrium, nightmares, muscular weakness, chest pain and palpitations. The visit summary notes that Bella, then 17, “feels ill all the time.”

Lyme disease is a bacterial illness that people can contract if they are bitten by an infected tick, according to the Mayo Clinic. Symptoms can include joint stiffness, muscle aches and pains, fever and headache. Antibiotics are used to treat the infection, which according to the Cleveland Clinic is curable if diagnosed and treated early but can also lead to chronic or recurring symptoms. In addition to Hadid, celebrities who have gone public with the disease include Amy Schumer, Justin Bieber, Ben Stiller, Kelly Osbourne and Riley Keough. Earlier this year pop star Justin Timberlake revealed his diagnosis.

Yolanda Hadid concluded her post with words of encouragement for her daughter: “This disease has brought us to our knees, but we always get back up.”

“We will continue to fight for better days, together,” she continued. “You are a survivor…I love you so much my badass Warrior.”

Former Times staff writer Christi Carras contributed to this report.

In Kenya, as in many countries across the world, street protests are often framed as the unfortunate result of political failure. As the logic goes, the inability of state institutions to translate popular sentiment into political, legislative and regulatory action to address grievances undermines trust and leaves the streets vulnerable to eruptions of popular discontent.

In this telling, protests are viewed as a political problem with grievances expected to be legitimately addressed using the mechanisms – coercive or consensual – of the formal political system.

Like its predecessors, the increasingly paranoid regime of Kenyan President William Ruto has also adopted this view. While generally acknowledging the constitutional right of protest, it has sought to paint the largely peaceful and sustained Generation Z demonstrations and agitation of the past 16 months, which have questioned its rule and policies, as a threat to public order and safety and to delegitimise the street as an avenue for addressing public issues.

“What is going on in these streets, people think is fashionable,” Ruto declared a month ago. “They take selfies and post on social media. But I want to tell you, if we continue this way, … we will not have a country.”

The killing and abductions of protesters as well as the move to charge them with “terrorism” offences, borrowing a leaf from Western governments that have similarly criminalised pro-Palestinian and antigenocide sentiments, are clear examples of the state’s preferred response. At the same time, there have been repeated calls for the protesters to enter into talks with the regime and, more recently, for an “intergenerational national conclave” to address their concerns.

But framing protests as a dangerous response to political dissatisfaction is flawed. Demonstrations are an expression of democracy, not the result of its failures. The Generation Z movement has shown that transparency, mutual aid and political consciousness can thrive outside formal institutions. Activists have made the streets and online forums sites of grievance, rigorous debate, civic education, and policy engagement.

They have raised funds, provided medical and legal aid, and supported bereaved families, all without help from the state or international donors. In doing so, they have reminded the country that citizenship is not just about casting ballots every five years. It is about showing up – together, creatively and courageously – to shape the future.

The Generation Z movement is in many respects a reincarnation of the reform movement of the 1990s when Kenyans waged a decadelong street-based struggle against the brutal dictatorship of President Daniel arap Moi. Today’s defiant chants of “Ruto must go” and “Wantam” – the demand that Ruto be denied a second term in the 2027 election – echo the rallying cries from 30 years ago: “Moi must go” and “Yote yawezekana bila Moi (All is possible without Moi).”

Centring the struggle on Moi was a potent political strategy. It united a broad coalition, drew international attention and forced critical concessions – from the reintroduction of multiparty politics and term limits to the expansion of civil liberties and, crucially, the rights of assembly and expression.

By the time Moi left office at the end of 2002, Kenya was arguably at its freest, its spirit immortalised in the Gidi Gidi Maji Maji hit I Am Unbwogable! (I Am Unshakable and Indomitable!)” But that moment of triumph also masked a deeper danger: the illusion that removing a leader was the same as transforming the system.

Moi’s successor, Mwai Kibaki, hailed then as a reformist and gentleman of Kenyan politics, quickly set about reversing hard-won gains. His government blocked (then tried to subvert) constitutional reform, raided newsrooms and eventually presided over a stolen election that brought Kenya to the brink of civil war.

One of his closest ministers, the late John Michuki, had in 2003 revealed the true mindset of the political class: Constitutional change to devolve the power of the presidency, he claimed, was necessary only so “one of our own could share power with Moi”. Once Moi was gone, he averred, there was no longer need for it.

Due to the obstruction from the political class, it took Kenyans close to a decade after Moi’s departure to finally promulgate a new constitution.

Generation Z must avoid the trap of the transition of the 2000s. Power, in the Kenyan political imagination, has often been the prize, not the problem. But real change requires more than a reshuffling of names atop the state. It demands a refusal to treat state power as the destination and a commitment to reshaping the terrain on which that power operates. And this is where the youth should beware the machinations of a political class that is more interested in power than in change.

Today’s calls for national talks and intergenerational conclaves emanating from this class should be treated with suspicion. Kenyans have seen this play out before. From the 1997 Inter-Parties Parliamentary Group talks and the negotiations brokered by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan after the 2007-2008 postelection violence to the infamous “handshake” between President Uhuru Kenyatta and his rival Raila Odinga and the failed Building Bridges Initiative, each of these elite pacts was presented as a way to translate popular anger into meaningful reform. Yet time and again, they only served to defuse movements, sideline dissenters and protect entrenched power.

Worse still, Kenya has a long history of elevating reformers – from opposition leaders and journalists to civil society activists – into positions of state power, only for them to abandon their principles once at the top. Radical rhetoric gives way to political compromise. The goal becomes to rule and extract, not transform. Many end up defending the very systems they once opposed.

“Ruto must go” is a powerful tactic for mobilisation and pressure. But it should not be seen as the end goal. That was my generation’s mistake. We forgot that we did not achieve the freedoms we enjoy – and that Ruto seeks to roll back – through engaging in the formal system’s rituals of elections and elite agreements but by imposing change on it from the outside. We allowed the politicians to hijack the street movements and reframe power and elite consensus as the solution, not the problem.

Generation Z must learn from that failure. Its focus must relentlessly be on undoing the system that enables and sustains oppression, not feeding reformers into it. And the streets must remain a legitimate space of powerful political participation, not one to be pacified or criminalised. For its challenge to formal state power is not a threat to democracy. It is democracy.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.

Eric Dane is angry. Angry that he’s been hit by ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

“I’m angry because my father was taken from me when I was young, and now there’s a very good chance I’m going to be taken from my girls while they’re very young,” says the actor, 52, whose father fatally shot himself when Dane was just 7.

The “Euphoria” and “Grey’s Anatomy” star, who revealed his diagnosis last Tuesday, sat down with “Good Morning America” to talk about his amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, an incurable degenerative neurological condition. In ALS, the muscle neurons linking the brain and spine to the muscles deteriorate, leaving the muscle with nothing able to tell them what to do or when to do it. No messages means no movement, no functioning, in systems including eating and breathing.

The actor said in an interview broadcast on Monday that it’s been about 18 months since he started experiencing symptoms. It took a series of doctors and tests before he found out he was one of the 5,000 people a year diagnosed with ALS in the United States.

“I started experiencing some weakness in my right hand and I didn’t really think anything of it at that time,” Dane told Diane Sawyer, his voice perhaps sounding a bit slower and thicker than usual. “I thought maybe I’d been texting too much or my hand was fatigued.

“But a few weeks later, I noticed that it had gotten a little worse, so I went to a hand specialist, who sent me to another hand specialist. Then I went to a neurologist, who sent me to another neurologist, who said, ‘This is way above my pay grade.’”

Nine months after consulting with the first physician, Dane had his diagnosis.

Now “those three letters” — ALS — hit him every morning when he wakes up, he said.

“I have one functioning arm … my left side is functioning,” Dane said. “My right side has completely stopped working.”

Adding to the horror, his left arm is “going,” he said. “I feel like maybe a couple, few more months and I won’t have my left hand either. It’s sobering.”

The former competitive swimmer and water polo player recalled the moment he realized he no longer felt safe in water. He dove off a boat to snorkel with his daughter in the ocean, then couldn’t “swim and generate enough power to get myself back to the boat.” The younger of his two daughters with actor wife Rebecca Gayheart, 13-year-old Georgia, had to come to his aid.

After she dragged him back to the boat, Dane said, he sent her back out with her friend and the snorkeling guide. Meanwhile, he broke down crying.

“I was heartbroken.”

Life expectancy for people with ALS varies by age of symptom onset, type of ALS and whether a person is male or female. The overall median life expectancy from symptom onset is 30 months, according to ALS United of Greater Chicago. Some people die within a year, while others have lived 20 more years, the group said. Earlier onset seems linked to a better survival rate.

The famous theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, who died in 2016 at age 76, is an example of someone who survived for 55 years with the disease after being diagnosed at age 21. The minds of people with ALS stay sharp even as their bodies fail.

“Killing Me Softly” singer Roberta Flack died a little more than two years after revealing her ALS diagnosis at age 85.

Dane said Gayheart has become his “biggest champion” and “most stalwart supporter” as he continues to work when he can, including on a new series, “Countdown.”

“I don’t think this is the end of my story,” he told Sawyer. “I just don’t feel like, in my heart, I don’t feel like this is the end of me. … I’m fighting as much as I can.”

Erin Moriarty, the outspoken and righteous Starlight of “The Boys,” is speaking out about her health, specifically her ongoing battle with an autoimmune disorder.

Moriarty, 30, revealed to her Instagram followers on Friday that she was diagnosed last month with Graves’ disease, an autoimmune disorder in which the thyroid becomes overactive. In the caption of her post, Moriarty expresses the positive effects of treatment but reveals the disorder could have been identified earlier “if I hadn’t chalked it all up to stress and fatigue.”

The “Jessica Jones” and “One Life to Live” actor shared a carousel of photos including text message exchanges with her parents. In one screenshot Moriarty tells her mother “I really need relief” as she details her discomfort. “I can’t live like this forever,” she writes.

“It’s not just fatigue — it’s an ineffable, system wide cry for help and I don’t know how long I can remain in this state,” Moriarty continues in her text to her mother.

Moriarty did not reveal too much about her symptoms, noting in her caption that “autoimmune disease manifests differently in everybody/every body.” According to the Mayo Clinic, symptoms of Graves’ disease can include “feeling nervous or irritable,” slight tremors of the hands or fingers, weight loss, menstrual changes and heart palpitations. Wendy Williams, Daisy Ridley and Missy Elliott have also spoken publicly about living with Graves’ disease.

“Within 24 hours of beginning treatment, I felt the light coming back on,” Moriarty said in her caption. “It’s been increasing in strength ever since.”

She did not reveal the details of her treatment, but Moriarty told her father in a text message, “I already feel a world of a difference” and that she has since been thinking, “‘Damn, this is how I’m supposed to feel? I’ve been missing out!’”

Since “The Boys” premiered on Prime Video in 2019, Moriarty has starred as superhero Annie January, a.k.a. Starlight, who possesses the power to fly and manipulate light. Without spoiling too much about the series, it now seems Moriarty knows what it’s like to lose her spark on- and off-screen — and how to get it back.

She concluded her post by urging followers to listen to their bodies and seek medical attention when something feels off. “If [your light] is dimming, even slightly, go get checked,” she said.

“Don’t ‘suck it up’ and transcend suffering; you deserve to be comfy. S—’s hard enough as is.”