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.
Praying for your return to health, ppaul!!!!
Illegal aliens are bringing in diseases that had been almost eradicated in America long ago. Is our government not paying attention? Is illegal immigration more important than the health of American children? Apparently so.
Thanks Granny.
BTW: Admin. Moderator:
Please keep this thread up for at least a day, okay?
This is really serious stuff.
If you get to a doctor early (which we did not do because we thought it was just a cold) antibiotics can reduce the time for getting better (although there is no cure).
It can be fatal for newborns and infants if proper precautions are not taken.
Please help get the word out.
"Is illegal immigration more important than the health of American children?"
It still doesn't explain how a person immunized against this could get it. Insofar as I know babies still have to get the shot against this.
I have not seen this in the major media either.In my area (Midwest US) there have been a few local cases this year.
The vaccines are not always effective - a lot of kids have come down with it who were vacinated. Also, because of some serious, often fatal side-effects from the pertussis vaccine, many parents opted not to have their children immunized.
Just out of curiosity what general area are you in?
I went to my doctor for a "tetanus shot" a few months ago as I had suffered some cuts in a dirty basement, and hadn't had such a shot for years. I was surprised to learn it wasn't just a tetanus shot. It is also a pertussis (whooping cough) shot. This combo sounds weird to me but I ain't a doctor.
We, who have (imagine!) many meatpacking plants have had outbreaks of whooping cough in schools for the last several years. Hundreds have been sent home, and some schools have canceled classes.
Two years ago, our State epidemiologist actually SAID in the local paper that it was because of un-immunized illegal immigrant teenagers. First, and only time I ever heard THAT...guess she was "taken aside and corrected"...LOL.
More and more people are not immunizing their kids. Second the immunization for pertussis wans as you age, and it's not given to adults. So we have more and more susceptible kids and adults out there. The bug for this is always around, so not something that is related to immigration ( unlike the spike in TB ).
Thanks President Bush! Thanks to your Open Borders Amnesty policy,we can count on more great diseases like this to make a comeback in the USA again!
You made this possible! Thank You! and Thank You Vincente! For sending us your poor,sick,hungry,and criminal.
How lucky are we,huh? Excellent! Bring back POLIO PLEASE? More TB! More Hep-A-B-C please!
Well you can get it as a "tetanus" shot. DPT (diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus). Whether it does a lick of good for pertussis prevention to an adult, I dunno.
TB, Measles, Whooping Cough, etc.
I wonder how many people will think this is CHEAP labor when these diseases hit their families?! The only people getting off CHEAP are the EMPLOYERS hiring ILLEGALS. Is it worth it?!!! Besides the diseases, crimes and the taxpayers are stuck with the bills.
Probably why we haven't seen anything about this outbreak in the MSM.
Well, some 'karma' may soon start coming the way of these employers (if they employ "normal" Americans too and carry health insurance for those), as some of this TB is horrendously expensive to treat. Can you say a million dollars a pop?
Wear a scarf and yer rubbers, and make sure the younguns git plenty of roughage!
I wouldn't be so fast to blame immigrants.
About the time, my son was born, 17 years ago, parents started opting out on the "pertussis vaccine."
I know many parents who have, and they aren't immigrants.
My pediatrician advised against opting out because he said the risks of the pertussis vaccine are small, but the consequences of whooping cough are grave.
I seriously can't remember now why everybody was scared about the vaccine (had to do with some reaction, or something.) Maybe somebody else can fill us in as to why parents opted out of the "P" in DPT.
Nope. DPT is not given after the age of 7. Adults get dT, which is Diptheria and Tetenus, NOT the pertussis vaccine.
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