The Communicable Disease: Pertussis Essay

Cause: Whooping Cough, also known as Pertussis, is a highly contagious disease affecting the respiratory system (nose, throat, lungs and airways) and is caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis. The ‘whoop’ from the cough derives from the deep breaths at the end of each bout of coughing. Whooping cough is very infectious and affects individuals of all ages.

Yes and no. The vaccination that is available for Pertussis only provides patients with immunity for a limited time (“Whopping cough,” 2017). Due to the fact that the immunity provided through the vaccination is only for a limited time patients must get booster shots in order to maintain their immunity.

There are several diseases around the world that have not gone away in the last few decades. For instance, HIV, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B and more commonly, the Flu, and Measles are deadly diseases that still exist today. However, getting vaccinated will help fight off the disease as the vaccine releases antibodies into your bloodstream. Experts from MedlinePlus say that Pertussis, Diphtheria, and Tetanus are caused by bacteria. Diphtheria and pertussis can be spread to people from coughing and sneezing. Tetanus enters through cut and wounds. Also according to MedlinePlus, “Before vaccines, as many as 200,000 cases a year of diphtheria, 200,000 cases of pertussis, and hundreds of cases of tetanus, were reported in the United States each

For instance, pertussis, or commonly known as whooping cough, “Whooping cough is a highly contagious respiratory tract infection (cdc.gov).” This infection may resemble a common cold; however, it quickly turns into a more serious illness, causing babies or those with compromised immune systems to stop breathing and can become fatal. Babies cannot receive this vaccination until they are two months of age. Most babies who have whooping cough catch it from their caregivers or other family members. Whooping cough spreads easily from person to person, through coughing and sneezing, usually people who spread whooping cough are unaware that they even have it. The best way to prevent this is to receive the pertussis vaccination, DTaP in children and TDaP in adults. If you have received the vaccination in the past, it is always best to ask your health care provider if you are in need of a booster vaccination. Much like other vaccinations, the boosters are just as important as the initial vaccination. The immunity can wear off over time leaving one susceptible to the

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.

The Article entitled “Pertussis (Whooping Cough)- Pertactin-Negative Pertussis Strains” is about trying to figure out whether the Pertussis (whooping cough) is becoming more prominent across the United States because the lack of protein called Pertactin or because the Pertactin is present. Pertactin is a protein that helps bacteria attach to the lining of the airways. Pertactin is one of many key components of all pertussis vaccines in the United States. There was a study published in January of 2015 that discovered that if a person who has had the pertussis vaccination catches pertussis, it is more than likely to be a result of a Pertactin-deficient strain. But, in

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.

Pertussis is a highly contagious respiratory disease and is also known as whooping cough. This disease is caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis (B. pertussis) mostly (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015). However the bacterium Bordetella parapertussis (B. parapertussis) is also known to cause

Despite this, an estimated 6% of children and 24% of infants who contract pertussis can experience related health problems (Bentley et al., 2013). Infants are most likely to develop severe complications from the whooping cough. Infants that are unvaccinated, immunocompromised, have other underlying medical conditions, or that are prematurely born are at even greater risk of developing severe complications, including deaths. The most common complication of pertussis noted is pneumonia. Some of the other complications seen are: seizures, hypoxia, dehydration, rib fractures, otitis media, hernia, pneumothorax, and subdural

Vaccinating your child can help be a preventative measure against serious diseases that are not fully extinct yet. One example of a preventable disease is the increase in whooping cough outbreak that was reported recently. 28,000 cases of whooping cough were reported in 2014 and 2012 was a record year with more than 48,000 cases. Almost all of the deaths were babies younger than 3 months of age, who are too young to be fully protected against whooping cough through vaccines. Another disease that is fully preventable with the help of vaccination are the measles. Measles is still fairly common in many parts of the world, like Europe, Asia, and Africa. Measles is unfortunately

The question left to understand is how to prevent the spread of pertussis to those under one year of age and to those unable to receive the vaccine. Prevention would require different methods to stop the spread of pertussis. Wagner and Clodfelter (2014) explained using simple techniques such as hand

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

Pertussis epidemics occur every three to four years (Australian Government 2017). In 2011, 38,732 notified cases were reported nationally with the highest rates of disease being in infants under 6 months of age and children 5–9 years of age (Pillsbury, Quinn & McIntyre 2014). Children aged under six months

The population is ‘infants’ and babies from one month old to 23 months old or around the immunising age. The population can be narrowed down by researching the age that infants are given the pertussis immunization in order to get a more focused