Discussion Board

Please feel free to post comments, questions, and concerns that you may have about immunizations on this discussion board

Pertussis (Whooping Cough)

What is Pertussis?

Pertussis, or whooping cough, is a highly contagious, possibly deadly infection, characterized by severe coughing spells. It is one of the leading causes of vaccine-preventable deaths world-wide. Pertussis is mostly seen in children but can affect all ages, and is especially dangerous for babies. More than 60% of babies (or 3 out of 5) with pertussis are hospitalized, and more than 90% of deaths from pertussis are babies younger than 4 months old. Some complications of pertussis include pneumonia, ear infections, dehydration, brief periods without breathing, disorders of the brain, seizures, and death.

History. Before vaccines, about 200,000 people had pertussis every year, with more than 90% being children under 10 years old. After vaccines became available in the 1940s, the occurrence of pertussis fell by 99%. Between 2000 and 2004, there was an average of 2,500 cases of pertussis.

Signs and Symptoms. At first, pertussis seems like the common cold with a runny nose, sneezing, fever, and a cough. After 1-2 weeks, people have severe, short coughs that sound like a machine gun. Cough spells may end with a high-pitched “whoop” sound when the person tries to breathe in and are more common at night. People may gag on mucus and “gunk” that comes up with coughing and sometimes even throw up from all the coughing. Coughing attacks can continue to last from weeks-months after being treated for pertussis.

Transmission. Pertussis is spread by the coughing and sneezing of infected people. The greatest spread of the infection is from family members, especially mothers, to infants.

Treatment. Hospitalization is generally required and antibiotics are given to prevent the spread of pertussis to others. Antibiotics can shorten how long a person has pertussis but it usually doesn’t change the effect of the disease.

Pertussis Today. Recently there has been an increase in the number of pertussis cases. In 2005, there were 25,000 reported cases! This increase could be due to infants and children not being immunized or to adolescents and adults not receiving pertussis booster shots.

The best prevention of pertussis is to receive the immunization. The childhood vaccine is called DTap and the booster vaccine is called Tdap, both protect against whooping cough, tetanus, and diphtheria.

Educational Video!!!!

“What Every Parent Needs To Know: Protecting Your Baby From Pertussis (Whooping Cough)” features the testimonials of 4 mothers from across the U.S. whose babies contracted pertussis, paired with a physician expert. This tool aims to educate parents that one of the best ways to protect their babies from contracting pertussis is to make sure that they, and all of their infant’s close contacts, are vaccinated.

http://www.doitforyourbaby.com/pertussisvideo/pvideo.htm

What is Diphtheria?

Diphtheria is an upper respiratory tract illness caused by a bacterium that produces a toxin that is carried to the bloodstream. It is very contagious and can be life-threatening if not medically treated.
The respiratory tract is most commonly affected by diphtheria. The toxin can lead to a thick coating (usually fuzzy gray or black) in the nose, throat, and/or airway making it difficult to breath and swallow.
If the disease progresses, it can damage the heart (its ability to pump), the kidneys (their ability to clear waste), and cause nerve damage eventually leading to paralysis.

History.

In the 1920’s, before the introduction of the vaccine, there were approximately 100,000-200,000 cases of diphtheria per year in the United States, causing 13,000-15,000 deaths. Children represented the majority of fatalities in these cases.

Signs and Symptoms.

Signs and symptoms of diphtheria are gradual and usually include a sore throat, a low-grade fever, difficulty swallowing, loss of appetite, and neck swelling may be present.

Transmission.

Diphtheria is easily spread from one person to another by direct physical contact, airborne transmission (sneezing, coughing, laughing), or even coming in contact with tissues and drinking glasses of infected individuals.

Treatment.

Treatment is available for diphtheria, but delaying medical action increases mortality rates. A diphtheria anti-toxin is available only in the United States and is administered along with antibiotics to prevent transmission to others. If the disease is advanced, a ventilator or tracheotomy (incision through the neck into the trachea) may be required to assist breathing.

Diphtheria Today.

Today there are approximately 0-5 cases of diphtheria per year in the United States. Preventing diphtheria depends almost completely on immunizing children with the diphtheria/tetanus/pertussis (DTaP) vaccine. Most cases of diphtheria occur in people who have not received the entire course of the vaccine or have not received the vaccine at all.
Diphtheria booster shots should be received every ten years to provide continued protection.
Routine vaccination of both children and adults is essential to prevent the re-emergence of diphtheria in the United States.

Below is a link to the recommended series of the DTaP vaccine.

http://www.immun-wize.org/uploads/vis-dtap.pdf

Q & A

Is the Mercury preservative in vaccines dangerous?

No! Thimerosal is a mercury-containing preservative that has been used in some vaccines because it has a long record of safely and effectively preventing bacterial and fungal contamination of vaccines, especially multi-dose vials. There has recently been serious debate on the safety of thimerosal due to claims that it contributes to mercury toxicity and impaired neurological development.

The organic form of mercury, methyl mercury, is the kind most often found in the water, soil, plants, and seafood. In large amounts, methyl mercury is a neurotoxin, is more easily absorbed when ingested, and is less readily eliminated from the body than are inorganic forms of mercury.

One inorganic form of mercury is ethyl mercury; thimerosal is a derivative of ethyl mercury. Ethyl mercury from thimerosal-containing vaccines is rapidly eliminated from the body in the stool and does not appear to accumulate after routine immunizations.

No evidence of harm or ill effects of thimerosal have been established other than minor local reactions (such as redness at swelling) at the injection site. There is also no evidence of any harmful effect of thimerosal-containing vaccines on neurological or psychological outcome, including autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Although there are no evidenced negative effects of vaccines containing thimerosal, at present, all routinely recommended vaccines for children 6 years of age and younger are available as thimerosal-free formulations or contain only trace amounts of thimerosal (≤1 microgram of mercury per dose). For comparison, 1 microgram is roughly equal to 1 particle of dust. With each breath, we inhale approximately 2000 dust particles!

The only exception is the inactivated influenza vaccine, in which there is a limited supply of the trace-amount or thimerosal-free vaccine. Even influenza vaccines with more than trace amounts of thimerosal still only have amounts that are considered safe by the FDA.

There are two reason thimerosal is being taken out of vaccines. First, multi-dose vials are largely being replaced by single-dose vials, making the risk for contamination much lower. Second, other preservatives, that do not contain any mercury, can be used in some vaccines.

No studies have shown that thimerosal in vaccines is harmful. However, thimerosal is simply being eliminated from vaccines because it can be. For more information, please see www.cdc.gov