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Tag: whooping cough epidemic

  • Whooping Cough Epidemic Hits California: Thousands At Risk?

    The state of California is faced with a serious epidemic.

    In just the past two weeks, there were 800 new cases of pertussis, also known as “whooping cough”. According to California’s public health department. the total number of confirmed cases in 2014 is 3,458.

    That number far exceeds the total number of cases reported in 2013. Even more startling, the actual number of cases may be higher than what is officially on record.

    CNN reports that previous studies have shown that for every instance where someone reports the illness, ten other cases are not counted.

    This means there are thousands more cases that aren’t diagnosed, possibly contributing to the quickness with which whooping cough seems to be spreading.

    The worrying rise in cases has led some to question the effectiveness of the vaccine meant to protect against whooping cough.

    Experts believed that the vaccine, which was first recommended to children in 1997, wanes more quickly than originally thought.

    There was even a booster program created in response to the devastating 2010 whooping cough outbreak. That year there were close to 10,000 cases reported and 9 deaths.

    This outbreak is so recent, it’s impossible to tell whether or not the current strands of infection are connected to the 2010 cases.

    It is known that thus far 3 times as many case have been reported as in the same window last year.

    The concern over whooping cough isn’t limited to the state of California. The CDC stated that the total number of cases reported has risen by 24% across the country.

    The best defense in the eyes of many medical experts remains routine vaccinations. Many children are vaccinated against whooping cough before the age of 11 and receive a booster shot in their teenage years. It’s not unheard of for a person to receive three separate vaccinations as there is no lifelong cure for the potentially fatal illness.

    California is the state with the highest number of vaccinations, however it’s noted that these outbreaks are occurring in areas where parents opt not to vaccinate their children.

    It’s important for parents who suspect their children are suffering from whooping cough to seek medical attention immediately. The disease is highly treatable through antibiotics, but neglecting vaccination and medical care can cause unnecessary risks to infected children and non-infected children.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • California Whooping Cough Turns Into Epidemic

    California’s whooping cough problem has gotten bad and is on the verge of being considered an epidemic. There have been at least 800 new cases reported in the state within the last two weeks.

    As of June 10, the Department of Public Health has recorded 3,458 cases this year. This is more than what was reported during the entire year in 2013.

    Whooping cough symptoms include a cough and runny nose before the cough worsens and begins eventually making a whooping sound, this is where the name of the disease comes from. Babies, especially infants may not have a cough but their faces will turn red and sometimes even purple.

    Because the symptoms of the disease mimic those of so many other common diseases such as the flu or a cold, many people wait to be treated or brush the disease off as something that they can get over themselves. This is one of the reasons the disease is spread so easily.

    Whooping cough can affect anyone but it most commonly contracted by newborn babies and the elderly who have weakened immune systems or have not been vaccinated for the disease. Whooping cough vaccinations are fairly new and doctors all over the country are strongly urging anyone who has not been vaccinated to get the shots.

    Two newborns have already died from whooping cough in California this year.

    “Our biggest concern is always infants,” Stacey Martin, an epidemiologist with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s division of bacterial diseases, said in an interview. “There’s a gap in coverage between birth and the first vaccine.”

    Pregnant women can be vaccinated for the disease and their unborn child will be born with some protection from it as well. The CDC recommends infants be vaccinated as early as six weeks after birth because the protection they get from their mother’s vaccine will wear off by then. The CDC also recommends that everyone be vaccinated to help prevent the spread of the disease.

    Have you been vaccinated for whooping cough?

    Image via Wikimedia Commons