10 infants dead in California whooping cough outbreak

[Renew Deal]

(CNN) -- Whooping cough, also known as pertussis, has claimed the 10th victim in California, in what health officials are calling the worst outbreak in 60 years.

Since the beginning of the year, 5,978 confirmed, probable and suspected cases of the disease have been reported in California.

All of the deaths occurred in infants under the age of 3 months, says Michael Sicilia, a spokesman for the California Department of Public Health. Nine were younger than 8 weeks old, which means they were too young to have been vaccinated against this highly contagious bacterial disease.

"This is a preventable disease," says Sicilia, because there is a vaccine for whooping cough to protect those coming in contact with infants, and thereby protect the infants.

However, some parents are choosing to not vaccinate their children. In other cases, previously vaccinated children and adults may have lost their immunity because the vaccine has worn off.
<snip>

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/10/20/california.whooping.cough/index.html

[glowing]

1. Really, how many of them didn't have access to insurance, then the Dr, then the vaccine?

[Lance_Boyle]

4. This is a case of antivax idiots endangering the larger society,

not a case of healthcare for children being unavailable.

[glowing]

7. Honestly, I'd like to hear from each parent. It could be an access thing.

And yes there is county health services and clinics, but many people have never had to use them and have no clue where they even exist... Many newly poor people have no idea how to access the help that is actually in front of their faces.

On the other side, there are a few shots that I won't make my kid have.... like that gardasil crap. AND children have had severe reactions to a bad shot. AS well we know that in the past, shots have contained wonderful things for "testing" like syphillus... Distrust is rampant in this country. When they lie and lie and lie, its sooo hard to sort out the things that should be dove vs the things that should be avoided.

[Lance_Boyle]

9. Christ, really? You think they're repeating Tuskeegee with modern vaccinations?

The stupid in anti-vax nutters runs deep.

[glowing]

13. #1 I'm not stupid.. I'm quite aware of what our country does and has done

to people in this country and abroad.. I know how corparte greed and rich people have controlled a lot and continue to try destroying democracy for some fascist type of environment.

As well, I'm not anti-vax. I said I wouldn't use the gardasil which is not mandatory anyway... or the flu shot, I'm relatively healthy, knock on wood, and haven't had the flu for at least 2 or 3 yrs now.

Again, I'm not stupid.. but thanks for the personal attack and the inability to analize the whole picture as to why people are so distrustful of anything the govt says is "good".

[Journeyman]

6. My doctor wanted to charge me $45; County Health will do it for free. . .

The $45 was the office visit fee. The vaccine is covered by my insurance. So it was going to cost $90 for my wife and I to get a free vaccine. When we learned County Health would do it for free, it was a no brainer, especially as our new granddaughter is at risk. So there are ways around the exorbitant costs. Sometimes.

[Kind of Blue]

8. Same here. My niece had it.

I cover news for work and heard of the growing number of cases. When my sister told me that her child had a cough that wouldn't go away. I told her to check her out immediately for the whooping cough. Got the vaccine for free at County Health. It was just too expensive at the doctor's office. Health Department here is urging people to go to County Health because vaccines are plentiful and free.

[mrs_p]

2. k/r

If you are due for your tetanus shot, you can get an immunization that also protects against pertussis (http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/combo-vaccines/dtap-td-dt/tdap.htm). I can't get it now, as I am pregnant and it could interfere with the baby's immunity to the pathogen when s/he does get vaccinated. My only plea is that if you aren't able or willing to be vaccinated, please, please delay visiting a newborn until they can get immunized.

[cbdo2007]

3. "choosing to not vaccinate"

Everyone should definitely have their children vaccinated unless you have a specific, medical reason not to.

[hedgehog]

5. This part is news to me -

Adults usually don't have the "whoop" cough, so they may not think they have pertussis. Patti recommends if someone has a cough that doesn't go away, they should get tested for pertussis.

Sicilia points out that the pertussis vaccine isn't perfect and its protection wanes after about five years.

Health officials are urging everyone who hasn't had a pertussis vaccine in the past five years or -- doesn't remember if they had one -- to get the shot.

from another source:

First, if you have a bad cough that you can’t shake, it’s possible that you have pertussis. By some estimates, 10% to 30% of prolonged coughs in adults are caused by pertussis. Mind you, there seem to be swings in the number of new cases each year, so those estimates might be high in a low incidence year.

Second, you and your doctor can’t go by the whooping and other supposedly typical symptoms. One of the take-home messages of the JAMA article is that ”…additional testing and treatment decisions in a patient with prolonged cough should be based on the overall clinical impression, independent of these classical clinical features of pertussis.” Additional tests include culturing the Bordetella pertussis bacteria from nose and throat secretions. And treatment consists of a course of antibiotics.

http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/no-big-whoop-adult-pertussis-may-not-produce-the-whooping-cough/

[Barack_America]

10. I'm expecting in Jan. and all family members have been given their orders to get re-vaccinated.

There's been a lot of whooping cough cases in the county next to ours.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

12. Wow, congrats on the soon-to-be new arrival, BA !

:hi:

[alittlelark]

11. I got it about 6 years ago

It was pretty awful - I had to be put on codeine syrup cough suppressant.

I had no idea an adult could get it, I was shocked when they told me what it was.

[NV Whino]

14. I volunteer at a local hospital

They came around a couple of weeks ago with the combined tenants vaccine for all of us. For free.