Update: Calif. whooping cough: 9 dead, infections on rise

[HuckleB]

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jVl8x9u-v_Wg32vK1ircWXZ9d-1wD9I98PU00

"State health officials reported Thursday that California is on track to break a 55-year record in whooping cough infections in an epidemic that has already claimed the lives of nine babies.

At least 4,017 cases of the highly contagious illness have been reported in California. Data from the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control show 11,466 cases nationwide, though the federal numbers are known to lag behind local reporting.

Whooping cough is a cyclical illness that peaks in number of infections every five years. Symptoms are similar to the common cold, making it a challenge to diagnose, which in turn makes it difficult for officials to determine if the worst has passed, said Dr. Gil Chavez, state epidemiologist for the California Department of Public Health.

A persistent cough that lasts weeks is the tell-tale symptom of the illness, which is also known as pertussis.

..."

------------------------------------


I'll add a little video from Skepchick: http://skepchick.org/blog/2010/08/why-we-vaccinate-part-2/

Cheers!

:toast:

[Liberal Veteran]

1. How sad. If only there were some way to prevent most cases of this.

[Warpy]

2. There is now an adult vaccine

and anyone who has a chance of being around an infant needs to get it.

Adult whooping cough is usually blown off as a cold or mild flu. It's fatal to infants and occasionally to toddlers.

A few unlucky adults get really sick from it. I know, I was one of them.

Please get the vaccine if you or someone close to you know is having a baby. You might save the baby's life.

(Oh, and the epidemic might be starting in California, but you know they travel)

[Tesha]

6. And the article dodged the question, saying only that the nine who died...

...were infants who were too young to be "completely
immunized". It was silent on whether they (or their
siblings) were immunized at all.

Tesha

[tandot]

3. our son is up to date with all his vaccinations, including pertussis

His next appointment is in November for his 18 month immunizations.

We'll all get flu shots. We just got over a cold which was bad enough. I don't want him to get the flu.

[HuckleB]

4. Awesome! I'm bringing my four-year-old in for his flu shot on Monday.

I hope to get mine tomorrow.

:toast:

[charlie]

5. Hmm

...At least 286 Marin residents have contracted the disease this year, as of Aug. 31. That's more than the past 10 years combined, according to the county Department of Public Health. Marin has one of the highest rates of exposure in the state: 113 cases per 100,000 residents, as opposed to a statewide rate of 9.2 cases per 100,000. Only San Luis Obispo County has a higher rate of exposure, with 121 cases per resident and 324 cases overall.

"We're seeing more cases than in any year since state law mandated a whooping cough vaccination for all children enrolling in kindergarten," said Ken August, a spokesman for the state Department of Public Health, which reported 3,600 cases statewide as of Aug. 31. "The last time we had more cases was all the way back in 1958, when we had 3,837 cases."...

http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_16007396?nclick_check=1





http://www.baycitizen.org/local/counties/immunizations/

[Warpy]

7. The "conscience" opt out is a public health disaster in the making

If parents won't immunize their brats, they need to make the commitment to home school them. Some kids in school can't be immunized due to immune system compromise from disease or chemotherapy and shouldn't be exposed to non immunized kids. This is what herd immunity is all about, protecting not only the kids who are immunized but those who can't be immunized.

This antivax hysteria is killing people. Literally.

[Codeine]

8. It should not be legal to skip it, home-school or not.

Scientific illiteracy and a tendency to buy into hysteria are not valid grounds to put the lives of others at risk. Parents who will not vaccinate need to be relieved of custody.

[charlie]

9. It annoys me

that this is happening in affluent suburbia, where they have excellent medical care, the means to pay for it, and don't have to worry if the shift boss will give them an afternoon off to get the kids to the community health center. And still, they pull this shit.

[Codeine]

14. Proof that money doesn't buy intellect.

Or even common fucking sense.

[HuckleB]

17. Yup. And now they're trying to pretend they're "not" anti-vaccination, ...

while, at the same time, they expend a great deal of energy trying to blame the epidemic on, well, people who haven't received their vaccinations.

Of course that's true, but, wow! What a bizarro world view.

[alittlelark]

10. I'm in my mid 40's and got it 3 years ago

Unlike any illness I have had. I was spending lots of time working w/kids. It lasted almost 2 weeks. When you cough the strangest sounds come out.....

[laconicsax]

11. Hmm...no anti-vaxers showing up on this thread?

You would think they'd be all over the numerous calls to vaccinate here...

[xchrom]

12. recommend

[Crystal Clarity]

13. Question about adult TDAP vax

Something I should know but... how many years is it good for? I got mine last spring and had unpleasant side effects from it. Flu-like symptoms for 3 or 4 days. I'm glad I did it, but hope it'll be a long time before I need one again.

ETA: I don't think this Q does, but if it crosses the line into 'asking for medical advice' please disregard since I see my Doc in January. I just thought I'd ask while it's fresh in my mind...

[HuckleB]

15. As much as I can tell, they are still trying to figure that out.

Right now, if you have a booster, you'll be ok, until they figure out a frequency recommendation.

[HuckleB]

16. Thanks to the Anti-Vaccination Movement, Whooping Cough is Making a Comeback

http://therelativelyinterestingblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/thanks-to-anti-vaccination-movement.html

"By the 1970s, through vaccinations, whooping cough was as endangered as the whooping crane, with only about 0.000005 percent of the population infected. Unfortunately, fears that the DPT vaccine (a combo for diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus) could cause brain damage in rare cases — not entirely unfounded — gave rise to the anti-DPT movement in many industrialized countries.

At issue was the "whole-cell pertussis" element of the vaccine, since replaced in most countries, including the United States, with an "acellular" formulation (which includes purified proteins from the Bordetella pertussis bacteria), indicated by the "a" in DTaP, a common abbreviation for the vaccine these days. While never conclusively associated with brain damage, the original formulation was tied to other serious albeit rare side effects, such as allergic reactions and seizures.

Hype and consequences

The impact of the anti-vaccine movement was dramatic. In Great Britain, immunization rates for whooping cough dropped from over 80 percent to 33 percent (and in some regions to less than 10 percent) from 1974 to 1977. Then the epidemic hit. In 1979 there were over 100,000 cases and 36 deaths worldwide. In Japan in 1975, amidst public worry, the government suspended mandatory pertussis vaccines for infants; the 1979 epidemic killed over 40 children there. The same scene repeated itself in other countries, as well.

In June 2009 researchers reported in the journal Pediatrics that children who didn't receive the whooping cough vaccine were 23 times more likely to contract pertussis. In the June 2010 issue of Pediatrics, researchers found no connection between the vaccine and seizures.

..."


But, of course, the outbreak has nothing to do with the anti-vax movement.

Nothing!

:eyes:

[moc]

19. Actually, in the case of the CA outbreak, it probably doesn't.

This is what I heard from a close colleague of a colleague of mine who does research on vaccine uptake. I was talking to her about the pertussis outbreak in CA a few weeks ago. Her friend is a public health researcher in CA and familiar with the details of the outbreak. She was saying that the particular population seeing the outbreak actually has a very high level of update of the DTaP, so it's not unvaccinated kids exposing the babies. Immunity from the DTaP tends to wane by early adolescence. As you know, adolescents and adults with pertussis can have symptoms that are not dissimilar from a common cold, and it is thought they are the vehicle of exposure in the infants. Apparently, they are offering free boosters to any adolescent or adult living in a house with an infant.

[mzmolly]

21. Exactly right. And the adolescent/adult booster is

fairly new and awareness is being promoted, so diagnostic bias plays a role in so called increased cases as well.

"As you know, adolescents and adults with pertussis can have symptoms that are not dissimilar from a common cold, and it is thought they are the vehicle of exposure in the infants."

[HuckleB]

22. I know the multiple factors in play, however you're not responding to the content of the piece...

... I linked to. There is more to the story than anti-vaxers who've chosen not to get vaccines. Read the piece.

Further, none of that is an excuse for anti-vaxers. It's quite interesting that the anti-vaxers are running around screaming it's not because of us!

They know the damage that their sick shite is going to lead to, but they don't want to take responsibility for it.

Anyway, please read what is posted before responding next time.

[moc]

23. Sorry, I was just sharing some information I had from an "insider"

perspective, so to speak. Thought it was interesting. Sorry you didn't agree.

[HuckleB]

24. The piece addressed the multiple factors.

That's my point. I find it quite funny to see the anti-vax crowd run around as fast as they can, pointing all the factors that may be a part of this outbreak, except for their own advocacy, of course. And nevermind that the factors they're pointing out are factors they support. It's just bizarre.

[mzmolly]

26. It was interesting and the article did not cover it

as others have suggested. Thanks for sharing accurate information vs. hype. :hi:

[HuckleB]

27. The article did cover it.

Why do you pretend otherwise?

[mzmolly]

28. Provide the quote

please.

[HuckleB]

29. Again?

:rofl:

[mzmolly]

30. Are you talking about the misinformation from Dr. Sawyer

in which he falsely claims that parents are concerned about autism ala the measles vaccine and that is somehow related to the friggen pertussis outbreak? Or the quote where the propaganda piece notes a handful of schools may have students who opted out of a single non related vaccine? Need I point out to you that neither of these distractions, noted in the article are related to the California outbreak?

Want to see the part of the article you missed while making unfounded assumptions based upon YOUR preconceived notions?

All of the whooping cough-related deaths in California occurred in babies too young to be fully immunized against the illness, which is why parents and caretakers are being urged to get booster shots. Typically, babies are given a series of vaccinations, then receive booster shots between ages 4 and 6 and again after age 10.

[HuckleB]

31. As usual, you offer up a response from nowhere.

And a response that jumps to conclusions that can't be made yet.

Your choice to run off at the mouth when the information isn't in shows all that needs to be shown.

Anti-vaxers are dangerous.

Period.

[Name removed]

18. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[SheilaT]

20. Not to minimize how terrible it

is that anyone has died from this, but I sort of wish the medical establishment and mainstream media would get this worked up over the 400,000 or so people who die every single year from the effects of smoking.

[Dover]

25. I had this a year ago and let me tell you.... it's a BEAR!

I'm a very healthy adult and this took me down fast and hard. I can't recall ever having anything this bad. And it lasted for just over three weeks.
I believe I caught it from a neighbor's nine year old son who was struggling with it, along with his family members, for weeks before being diagnosed.

So I can just imagine how dangerous this is for infants and the elderly.