Helen McArdle

The massive whooping cough outbreak sweeping Scotland is likely to get worse over the coming months, an expert has warned. Dr Sam Ghebrehewet, head of immunisation and vaccination at Public Health Scotland (PHS), said infections would probably not peak until the autumn. It comes days after PHS revealed that a total of 2,232 laboratory-confirmed cases of pertussis - better known as whooping cough - had been detected in Scotland up to May 13.

Tom O'Riordan was descending into Dublin airport on June 5 last year when the cockpit suddenly filled with a pungent "fumey" smell. The 54-year-old was a healthy and experienced pilot who had been flying for 30 years, including 15 with Aer Lingus, but the stench left him feeling "quite unwell" as he and his co-pilot brought the aircraft in to land.

In 1980s Miami, pathologists were left perplexed by a string of unexplained deaths. Over a period of years, from 1980 until 1989, dozens of women were found sprawled in alleyways and junkyards but no cause of death could be found.

A father-of-two whose legs and arms were amputated following a near-fatal battle with sepsis is being evicted from his care home because the council insist he "no longer requires the service". Scott McQuade, 50, said he was stunned by the "heartless" actions of Renfrewshire Council after being told they are initiating formal proceedings to remove him from Montrose Care Home in Paisley.

Scotland has experienced a massive surge in whooping cough cases, according to newly released figures. Provisional data released by Public Health Scotland indicates that 2,232 laboratory-confirmed cases of pertussis - better known as whooping cough - had been detected in Scotland by May 13.

"Worst fears coming true": that was the sentiment of campaigners earlier this week in the wake of one tragic death and another near miss in the north of Skye.

Overweight men who were offered a £400 incentive to slim down were more likely to be successful, according to a study led by Stirling University. 

Unsafe conditions due to nursing shortages in the health and care sector have "normalised" and there is little sign that the workforce crisis is improving, nursing leaders have warned. In its third annual report on the nursing workforce in Scotland, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) cautioned that there is a "significant" risk of patients coming to harm as nursing vacancies are filled by less qualified staff.

The deaths of five young infants in England from whooping cough has caused alarm over falling vaccination rates and rising cases of the bacterial infection. On Friday, Public Health Scotland said notifications for the disease are also on the increase north of the border as it urged pregnant women to get vaccinated.

The boss of Scotland's only children's hospice charity says it will have to raise £60 million over the next five years "just to stand still" amid growing demand on its services. Rami Okasha, chief executive of Children's Hospices Across Scotland (CHAS), said it wanted to provide more support to families in hospital and at home as well as through its two hospice centres - Rachel House in Kinross and Robin House in Balloch.