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Pertussis can still be fatal

ninerbuff

Speaking with reporters Friday, California Department of Public Health communicable disease control chief Dr. James Watt also reported the death of an infant in Riverside County from pertussis.

The child's death marks the first whooping cough fatality since 2010, the last time the disease peaked in the state. That year, more than 9,100 cases of pertussis were reported in California, with 10 deaths.

Whooping cough rates rise and fall according to a three- to five-year cycle. Monthly reports of pertussis cases had been declining since 2010, but began to go up again in mid-2013, Watt said. The state's preliminary case count for 2013 is 2,372.

In 2012, California reported 1,022 whooping cough illnesses.

Watt said it was too soon to know how pertussis cases would trend in 2014, but said that the death of the baby in Riverside County "highlights the importance of vaccination."

Watt urged pregnant women and infants to get immunized "as soon as possible." Mothers who get vaccinated during their pregnancies confer protection to infants who are too young to get an immunization. Babies can get their first dose of pertussis vaccine at as early as 6 weeks of age, and should have three doses by the time they are 6 months old, Watt said.

Boosters follow during a child's second year, before kindergarten and at 11-12 years of age. People who never received a vaccine during the preteen years should also get immunized, Watt added.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-flu-pertussis-california-20140207,0,2505450.story#ixzz2sqAESfJn

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Replies

MyOwnSunshine

Thanks for posting this. While "herd immunity" carried most children through the initial anti-vaccine years, it has diminished significantly in areas where many parents choose not to vaccinate.

Adults should also get a pertussis booster (conveniently combined with a tetanus booster) every 10 years or so.

Pertussis can definitely be fatal for the very young, the very old and those with immune deficiency disorders. It is a serious illness for those who are usually healthy, and the cough lasts for months.

arrseegee

Agreed about the booster shots being needed. My sister in law got pertussis a couple of years ago and broke a rib in her back from the coughing. She thought she was adequately vaccinated but unfortunately the vaccine schedule in New Zealand doesn't follow up adults for pertussis. I think 3 or 4 kids died there in 2011 because vaccination rates are so poor in some areas, and it's only when it becomes fatal that the anti-immunisation brigade realise what the choice not to immunise can mean for their kids' health.

servilia

Bump. Good post.

silver_arrow3

I was vaccinated, but I did not follow up with booster shots. I got pertussis at 19 and was quite ill for more than three months. Get the vaccination, get the boosters. I wouldn't wish that on anyone.

ninerbuff

Vaccinations work. There are those who are skeptical and are convinced that they are responsible to disorders like autism, since Jenny McCarthy's son, was diagnosed with autism and McCarthy went on this crusade to discourage vaccines because her belief was that it caused his autism. Study after study has been done to verify her stance to no avail. I do believe she is influencing some people even though it may be more of an excuse not to go to the doctor rather than feeling she is correct in her belief.

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Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

MyOwnSunshine

Vaccinations work. There are those who are skeptical and are convinced that they are responsible to disorders like autism, since Jenny McCarthy's son, was diagnosed with autism and McCarthy went on this crusade to discourage vaccines because her belief was that it caused his autism. Study after study has been done to verify her stance to no avail. I do believe she is influencing some people even though it may be more of an excuse not to go to the doctor rather than feeling she is correct in her belief.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Prior to Jenny McCarthy's crusade, there was a highly publicized study by a British researcher that "proved" that the increase in rates of autism were directly linked to vaccinations. The mainstream media published repots on the topic for years. This study was later proved to be a total fabrication by the researcher -- no links actually existed. He made up all of the data. The mainstream media did not correct their misleading of the general public with the same enthusiasm that they touted the initial data.

Almost all of the anti-vaccine movement's stance was based upon this single faulty study. Although many researchers have attempted to replicate the results of the study that linked vaccinations to autism, not one has ever been able to substantiate the theory. Most anti-vaccine proponents continue to base their beliefs on a fictional claim of a discredited researcher.