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Blue Springs, MO —
Whooping cough, or pertussis, is making a serious comeback in the Kansas City area and around the country. Outbreaks of this highly contagious bacterial disease are being noted in several school districts, particularly among young people in the fifth through eighth grades.
Whooping cough is spread from person to person by coughing or sneezing and in rare cases can be fatal to children. It leads to severe coughing that causes children to make a distinctive whooping sound as they gasp for breath.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, prior to the introduction of the vaccine in the 1940s, there was an average of 175,000 cases of whooping cough each year. This dropped off to fewer than 3,000 cases per year in the 1980s, but it has increased to a total of 27,550 cases of pertussis reported in 2010.
For the first time in nearly 60 years, communities across America are grappling with a whooping cough epidemic. And, sadly, it could be prevented.
Unfortunately more and more parents are not having their kids vaccinated. Missouri, Kansas and 25 other states allow parents to “opt out” for medical or religious reasons and 21 other states allow opting out for personal or philosophical beliefs. Despite overwhelming evidence that vaccines are safe and effective (and do not cause autism), fears persist, causing people to risk their children’s health.
Among infants younger than 1 who get pertussis, more than half will be hospitalized, and the younger the infant, the more likely it is that hospitalization will be necessary.
Of those infants hospitalized with whooping cough:
- One in five will develop pneumonia.
- One in 100 will experience convulsions.
- Half will suffer slowed breathing.
- One in 300 will have swelling of the brain.
- One in 100 will die from complications.
Health officials recommend children be vaccinated against whooping cough in five doses, with the first shot coming at age 2 months and the final dose between 4 and 6 years. The vaccine is not fully effective until all five doses are given. The whooping cough vaccine is usually given in combination with other medicines that provide protection against tetanus and diphtheria (Tdap).
Even if your children have been immunized, they may no longer be fully protected against whooping cough. The vaccine may lose potency after just three years, not six years as previously believed, so it’s important to talk to your pediatrician about getting a booster when children are 11 or 12 years old.
In addition to vaccinating children, anyone who is around infants such as grandparents or caretakers should also get the vaccine. Immunity decreases with age, so it’s important for adults to get regular boosters.
The only way to protect the public from infectious diseases such as whooping cough is through vaccination. Parents risk not only the health of their children, but also the health of their communities by not getting vaccinated.
If whooping cough is circulating in the community... and it is, there is a chance that even a fully vaccinated person can catch this very contagious disease. If you or your child develops a cold with a prolonged, severe cough, it may be whooping cough. Don’t wait, contact your physician.
Whooping cough, or pertussis, is making a serious comeback in the Kansas City area and around the country. Outbreaks of this highly contagious bacterial disease are being noted in several school districts, particularly among young people in the fifth through eighth grades.
Whooping cough is spread from person to person by coughing or sneezing and in rare cases can be fatal to children. It leads to severe coughing that causes children to make a distinctive whooping sound as they gasp for breath.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, prior to the introduction of the vaccine in the 1940s, there was an average of 175,000 cases of whooping cough each year. This dropped off to fewer than 3,000 cases per year in the 1980s, but it has increased to a total of 27,550 cases of pertussis reported in 2010.
For the first time in nearly 60 years, communities across America are grappling with a whooping cough epidemic. And, sadly, it could be prevented.
Unfortunately more and more parents are not having their kids vaccinated. Missouri, Kansas and 25 other states allow parents to “opt out” for medical or religious reasons and 21 other states allow opting out for personal or philosophical beliefs. Despite overwhelming evidence that vaccines are safe and effective (and do not cause autism), fears persist, causing people to risk their children’s health.
Among infants younger than 1 who get pertussis, more than half will be hospitalized, and the younger the infant, the more likely it is that hospitalization will be necessary.
Of those infants hospitalized with whooping cough:
- One in five will develop pneumonia.
- One in 100 will experience convulsions.
- Half will suffer slowed breathing.
- One in 300 will have swelling of the brain.
- One in 100 will die from complications.
Health officials recommend children be vaccinated against whooping cough in five doses, with the first shot coming at age 2 months and the final dose between 4 and 6 years. The vaccine is not fully effective until all five doses are given. The whooping cough vaccine is usually given in combination with other medicines that provide protection against tetanus and diphtheria (Tdap).
Even if your children have been immunized, they may no longer be fully protected against whooping cough. The vaccine may lose potency after just three years, not six years as previously believed, so it’s important to talk to your pediatrician about getting a booster when children are 11 or 12 years old.
In addition to vaccinating children, anyone who is around infants such as grandparents or caretakers should also get the vaccine. Immunity decreases with age, so it’s important for adults to get regular boosters.
The only way to protect the public from infectious diseases such as whooping cough is through vaccination. Parents risk not only the health of their children, but also the health of their communities by not getting vaccinated.
If whooping cough is circulating in the community... and it is, there is a chance that even a fully vaccinated person can catch this very contagious disease. If you or your child develops a cold with a prolonged, severe cough, it may be whooping cough. Don’t wait, contact your physician.
