Whooping cough alert issued

[TexasStooge]

By JANET ST. JAMES / WFAA ABC 8

There's a health alert involving the whooping cough vaccine.

The American Academy of Pediatrics is recommending that pre-teens be vaccinated—again—to protect against the respiratory illness.

The parents of 11-month-old Jose Cano assumed his vaccinations would last a lifetime. But the pertussis vaccine for whooping cough only lasts about five years.

In recent years, there's been a serious rise in whooping cough (as it's commonly known), especially among teenagers whose immunity to the disease has expired.

Experts blame, in part, immigrants crossing the border from countries where vaccinations are not required.

Since the vaccine was introduced in the 1940s, pertussis cases dropped from 174,000 to 1,000.

Last year, however, the Centers for Disease Control reported more than 25,000 cases—mostly in teens.

North Texas numbers are the highest in the state. In Dallas County, confirmed reports rose from 24 in 1999 to 197 last year.

County health authorities said a new recommendation that adolescents ages 11 and 12 should get a pertussis booster shot could save lives and little loved ones.

"Everyone above the age of 10 in the household should be vaccinated against pertussis so they do not risk giving the illness to their child, who's at the greatest risk of getting terribly ill," said Dr. David Buhner, medical director for the Dallas County Health Department.

With a son who's not yet fully immunized and another baby on the way, doctors said the parents of young Jose Cano's parents would also be wise to get a whooping cough booster shot.

[arkess7]

ugggggggggg.......my daughter has been hacking it up again the past couple days........she said the boy next to her in class keeps coughing too.........gona dose her up with some medicine today when she gets home.........and now they have these new vapor patches that you can stick on their chest.............a new spin on vicks vapor rub.......no more mess........they work good too at breaking up the phelgm in their chests....

[Skywatch_NC]

My niece had a case of whooping cough (pertussis) a few years ago.

Holy cow...those types of disease that one would think was eliminated decades ago!

Eric

[streetsoldier]

This is just one more reason to close the borders.

[Persepone]

It's actually a reason to immunize your children and to get boosters as an adult. After a few years, people get very lax about immunizations and believe that the diseases have somehow "gone away."

There are a bunch of boosters that even adults should have, e.g., tetanus.

[BigLug]

The cases have been going up here in Iowa also the past 2-3 years.

And this has nothing to do with closing our borders, it's about Americans being lazy. It's always easier to blame someone else for our ignorance.

[Miss Mary]

My 15 year old just had her annual check up. She was due for her tetanus shot. The Pediatrician said tetanus is everywhere, it's in our soil. And if you contract it, half can die from it! So right then and there, I said give her a shot! Which of course led me to ask - I wonder how many adults keep their shots current? I can't even remember my last tetanus shot....in my 30s? Yikes. I'm no longer a spring chicken either. Some Internists (our adult doc in particular), don't seem as thorough as Pediatricians are. Which prompts me to suggest we need to be our own advocates. You know the tetanus vaccine is sitting right there in a cabinet. Next time I'm in for something, I'm asking for it!

Laura also had the flu mist vaccine. And I thought the Ped. said they added something for pertussis (whooping cough). I'd have to look up my paperwork. She used to get this cough as a baby and I remember many nights, opening her bedroom window to relieve the coughing. Or just going outside on the front porch, after bundling her up if winter. The cold air opens up the bronchial tubes and the coughing subsides. I learned that tip from the Ped. too, he said so many of his patients' parents would call frantic in the middle of the night, ask to meet the doctor. After dressing the baby and heading outside to the cold car, the coughing would subside. By the time they got to the office, the baby was asleep (often times). So he said to try this trick first, see if the baby stops coughing. My neighbors probably thought I was a bit crazy, out on the front porch at 2 a.m. But it did work! And we got sleep.

Mary