Epidemiology Of Pertussis

To vaccinate or not to vaccinate? Parents with infants and young children have been tussling with this proverbial question for several decades now. With the advent of the internet and the World Wide Web, parents have been bombarded with a plethora of information about pros and cons of vaccines from all kinds of sources, some creditable, and some are not. To the non-scientific community, these conflicting information can create problems in the decision making process; thus, forcing parents to make the wrong choices and putting their offspring and others at risk. However, this article will attempt to address the importance of vaccinations, how vaccines work, why we should vaccinate, and why parents should not be afraid to vaccinate their offspring.

Pertussis, commonly known as whooping cough, is a highly contagious respiratory disease caused by a bacterium, Bordatella pertussis. In 2010 it affected 27, 5501 individuals and was responsible for 262 deaths in the United States. Bordatella pertussis colonizes in the cilia of the respiratory tract3 producing uncontrollable coughing with paroxysms (fits) followed with a high pitched intake of air creating a whoop sound, posttussive emesis (cough induced vomiting), and exhaustion.3 These symptoms can last up to 10 weeks.3 Adults can transfer Pertussis to infants who are not fully immunized, subsequently, they are at a greater risk and may have serious complications from Pertussis including pneumonia and death.4

I think that perhaps in third world countries it may be a ramped problem do to the fact that most people are not vaccinated against it. Even then, the only people who are usually affected by the disease are children under 2 years old. They are the main targets of this disease because they do not have adequate immune systems to fight of the bacteria. Now maybe back in the 1900's Whooping cough would have been an epidemic because of their very limited amount of technology and they would not have known how to treat the disease or how to contain it. Despite out new technology, get a grasp on Pertussis, it seems to spread even if a person has been vaccinated. Curious enough that the schools have started vaccinating for Pertussis and started giving out the shot like it was candy, not even worried about the effect that it would have on the population of school kids that have had the shot. Some case kids that have had “Whooping Cough” are being re-vaccinated and

According to SC DHEC, Division of Acute Disease Epidemiology, 2011 shows in this chart the confirmed and probable Pertussis cases in SC, between 2004 and 2010. “Pertussis tends to become epidemic every 2-5 years; a trend unchanged from the years before vaccine introduction. Outbreaks occur throughout the year in the US (Cherry, 2010; CDC, 2010b). Pertussis vaccination has reduced the case incidence in peak years by more than 95%.”

people are vaccinated and health or medical care is less accessible. Pertussis infects a large number of people yearly, and in part have killed many. Schools are also a place of concern for uninfected children to become infected. According to ("Old college try applying", 2015) schools and day cares have had the most concentrated number of cases of pertussis. Preventative measure are imperative so that children do not get the disease.

Although the topic of vaccines and completing all recommended vaccine series can sometimes be difficult for some parents to comprehend, proper education and evidence based research can facilitate the goal of vaccinating children as adequately as possible. In recent years, the number of vaccines has increased. Children who are not immunized can readily transmit vaccine-preventable diseases throughout

The Pertussis is something that maybe parents don’t take seriously because it’s a possibility they believe it will never happen to their child. A strong recommendation to help decreases the cases of pertussis is to be stricter with shot requirements such as children can’t enter school or daycare without it and if they aren’t able to afford it because of issues with insurance, they should be offered the shot at a discount rate so that low-income families would qualify for it.

Every year or season a slightly different flu strain awakens, infecting our human population. This fall it’s the whooping cough, also called pertussis. It is causing many deaths, especially in infants. Many health officials have grown concerned with this unexpected new threat, mainly because the babies are too young to be fully immunized by the illness. It’s essential to understand how this virus is effecting our population and what procedures must be taken in order to prevent it from continuing to spread.

The routine U.S. childhood immunization schedule (from birth through age six) consists of vaccines for hepatitis B, diphtheria/ tetanus/pertussis (DTap), rotavirus (RV), Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), pneumococcus (PCV), polio virus (IPV), measles/ mumps/rubella (MMR), varicella (also known as chickenpox), and hepatitis A. Since the introduction of these vaccines, mortality rates caused from these diseases have drastically decreased and what

Whooping cough, which is additionally called pertussis, is exceptionally infectious and most genuine for children. Individuals with whooping hack normally spread the ailment by hacking or sniffling while in close contact with others, who then take in the microscopic organisms that cause the ailment. Prior to an immunization was accessible, pertussis murdered around 9,000 individuals in the United States every year. Presently, the pertussis antibody has lessened the yearly number of passings to under 30. Be that as it may, as of late, the quantity of cases has begun to rise. In 2004, the quantity of whooping hack cases spiked past 25,000, the most elevated amount following the 1950s.

Pertussis would kill 1 in 200 cases in children less than 6 months of age, due to pneumonia or brain damage. (Why Vaccinate? 2014)

Prior to an immunization was available, pertussis killed around 9,000 individuals in the United States every year. Presently, the pertussis antibody has decreased the yearly number of death to under 30. Be that as it may, as of late, the quantity of cases has begun to rise. In 2004, the quantity of whooping cough cases increased to

Bordetella pertussis, more commonly known as whooping cough is typically a six week disease divided into three stages. From the 1500s to the 1900s whooping cough was an unidentified disease. Long after its first outbreak in the 1500, it was finally discovered in the 1906 by scientists Jules Bordet and Octave Gengou. Most outbreaks occurred in children and it was not until 1920 that a vaccine was developed by Dr. Louis S. Sauer in Evanstion Hospital in Illinois. Several years later, in 1942, scientists Pearl Kendrick came up with a vaccine using DPT. However, there was controversy over whether this vaccine cause permanent brain damage, despite the fact that with the help of this vaccine there was over a 99% decline in whooping cough

Early symptoms may include but are not limited to: runny nose, low-grade lingering fever, coughing, and apnea. That may not sound very bad but because pertussis in its early stages appears to be more like the common cold, it is often not diagnosed until the more severe symptoms appear. Pertussis can also cause violent coughing until the air is gone from the lungs. This extreme coughing can result in throwing up and exhaustion. The first pertussis vaccine was developed in the 1930s. The vaccine was in full use by the mid-1940s.

Bordetella pertussis (known as whooping cough) was discovered by Bordet and Gengou as an acute respiratory tract infection. (1-2)