Posted on 06/09/2005 12:26:04 AM PDT by ppaul
Whooping Cough Outbreak
Communities throughout the U.S. are experiencing whooping cough (pertussis) outbreaks - the worst in 40 years.
If the school nurse or the health department informs you that there is a pertussis outbreak in your school or community, you may need to call your pediatrician. The school or health department will tell you if your child was directly exposed and requires antibiotics.
Health departments across the country are acting quickly to prevent the spread of pertussis, so your cooperation in contacting your pediatrician is crucial. Please follow the instruction of the health department. The care of children in an outbreak situation is different from care in isolated cases and the health department has the most updated information on how best to prevent disease.
This illness is called pertussis because it is caused by bacteria called Bordetella pertussis, which attacks the lining of the breathing passages, producing severe inflammation and narrowing of the airways. Severe coughing is a prominent symptom. Because the child is short of breath, she inhales deeply and quickly between coughs. These breaths frequently make a “whooping” sound, which is how this illness got its common name. Older children might not have the whoop sound. The intense coughing scatters the pertussis bacteria into the air, spreading the disease to other susceptible persons.
Symptoms of Whooping Cough
Whooping cough often acts like a common cold for a week or two. Then the cough gets worse, and the child may start to have the characteristic “whoops.” During this phase (which can last two weeks or more), the child often is short of breath and can look bluish around the mouth. She also may tear, drool and vomit. Infants with pertussis become exhausted and develop complications, such as susceptibility to other infections, pneumonia and seizures. Pertussis can be fatal in infants, but the usual course is for recovery to begin after two to four more weeks. The cough may not disappear for months and may return with subsequent respiratory infections.
When to Call Your Pediatrician
Pertussis infection starts out acting like a cold. You should consider the possibility of whooping cough if the following conditions are present.
The child is a very young infant who has not been fully immunized and/or has had exposure to someone with a chronic cough or the disease.
The child’s cough becomes severe and frequent, or her lips and fingertips become dark or blue.
She becomes exhausted after coughing episodes, eats poorly, vomits after coughing and/or looks “sick.”
Treatment for Exposure
The course of treatment depends on the nature of the exposure. If there is a whooping cough case in your school but your child has not been directly exposed, your health department or pediatrician may just recommend that you watch closely for developing symptoms. If your child was directly exposed, your child may need to be treated with antibiotics even if they are not showing symptoms. Your health department and pediatrician will be able to recommend what’s best for your particular circumstances.
Treatment for Disease
Depending upon the age of the child and the severity of the illness, treatment may include the following either at home or in the hospital:
Antibiotics – may be given intravenously.
Close observation – sometimes in an intensive-care setting.
Oxygen and intravenous fluids.
Lots of info on what caused the DPT scare here. There seems to be less bias in that report than in many others I read. From the report I've linked, is the following paragraph:
Until 1982 when WRC-TV in Washington, D.C. aired a documentary on pertussis vaccine reactions, most American parents (and most doctors) were unaware that the vaccine could cause death and permanent brain damage. Few parents were informed about the definition of a high-risk child or a severe reaction.
It really comes down to a sort of 'Sophie's choice':
1. Inoculate my kid, with the fairly remote chance that they'll have a significant reaction or maybe even die? Or,
2. Skip the inoculation and take the risk they'll get whooping cough... and maybe even die?
The really tough thing is to get reliable, non-biased data on the relative risks of the 2 options. What I can say for sure is that the more parents that refuse to immunize their kids, the higher the risk will become for contracting whooping cough for the general population.
Another one.
I see that you have read my homepage and are now trying to upset me deeply. I am done with you.
Vaccination News is not against an informed parent choosing to vaccinate his or her child. Vaccination News is against bad science being used to justify forcing parents to vaccinate.
Doesn't look too unbiased to me.
Shame on me from not reading all the way through. I didn't catch that particular sentence.
Compared to all the lunatic fringe anti-vaccination sites I scanned through, this one seemed more balanced. Should have went to CDC site.
Huh?
I apologize! I sincerely did NOT read your homepage. It is always a great sorrow when one loses a loved one especially a child. I truly meant no harm to you.
I just meant that death is the way of our fallen world. I wish that were not so, but by accepting that fact I have been able to really appreciate the gift of life.
My thoughts and prayers go out to you.
Liz
Were you homeschooled?
My son had a severe reaction to the DPT shot at 18 months, and his doctor gave him only DT in boosters after that. Serious reactions to the pertussis vaccine are not unusual, but the dangers of exposure to the disease can be much worse.
Get a grip, My Favorite Drama Queen.
In St. Paul the disease of the day is tuberculosis. This comes from the legal immigrants, the Hmong, who were not properly screened.
Thank you.
Glad to hear you are feeling better.
slow down there killer....
Hep a b and c were NEVER eradicated in the US. hell Hep C is an STD. TB is the same as well. It is a naturally occuring bacteria.
our soldiers are being vaccinated against polio right now.
this isnt just an illegal immigration thing and they do not bear all of the blame and neither does the President, in this case....
That's so true.
People had to deal with so much more death back then.
Breakthroughs that stopped diseases were thankfully embraced.
Now, too many people forget what it was like and play against the odds.
Terrible.
I have been to St. Paul. Great city!
I'm one of those "NYC area" types.
"Let me ask you this. We face a similar situation again. The CDC is recommending that children under 15 get a meningitis vaccine. Do you or don't you? We had several kids die from meningitis when I was in high school. Do we have our child get the meningitis vaccine when he gets his other booster this summer?"
How old is your child? If under two, yes. If over two, no. The majority of meningitis cases are in babies under the age of one.
Yes.
Legal Immigrants are screened for health problems, and get all the vaccinations needed before they are allowed entry. Illegals just waltz in as if they own the place. No health screens, no vaccinations, and a hell of a lot of them are sick with stuff we had gotten rid of. stuff like Multiple drug-resistant tuberculosis is one of the most significant, and the chagas disease, dengue fever, polio, hepatitis A, B, C, MRSA, and it seems that Pertussis is on the list too.
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