Personal Health Even With Vaccination, the 'Whoop' Is Ba ck

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If whooping cough is the most "vaccine preventable" disease then there should be no outbreaks since vaccination rates are higher than ever.The saturation rate is at it highest level since childhood vaccinations in the United States became mandatory in the 1970's. The facts are that the overwhelmoing majority of outbreaks of pertussis, measles and flu have been among the vaccinated. Of 93 infants who died from the current flu, 60 had been vaccinated. What sort of efficacy rate is that? Even a placebo effect has a better track record. The DPT shot is a dirty vaccine and has the worst rate for adverse reaction amongst children according to the Centers for Disease Control VAERS [Vaccine Adverse Event Reporing System]. Since the U.S. Congress assumed liability (read U.S. Taxpayer) in 1987, when drug manufacturers threatned to stop vaccine production because of mounting lawsuits threatening to place them into bankruptcy, over one billion U.S. dollars have been paid out for vaccine induced death and injury. And we are told by the vaccine"experts" - echoed by a research challenged media - that vaccines are not only effective but safe. Yes, and the moon is made of green cheese. - CW

Get used to it. Pertussis, better known as whooping cough, is here to stay.

So are pertussis-related deaths among vulnerable infants, unless steps are taken to stem the increasing number of cases of the highly contagious disease.

"Pertussis is the only vaccine-preventable disease that is still increasing in this country," said Brian Pascual, a public health specialist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The increase is occurring even though vaccination rates are considerably higher today than they were a decade or two ago, Mr. Pascual said.

So far this year, five states have reported pertussis outbreaks to the centers, and that number is expected to increase greatly. Cases and outbreaks tend to peak in the fall, when adolescents whose immunity has worn off return to school.

In 2002, the most current year with full statistics, nearly 9,771 cases were reported � the most since 1964. Fifteen children are known to have died of pertussis complications, mostly those who had not been vaccinated. The number of reported cases last year, 8,483, will continue to grow as states finish filing their year-end reports, Mr. Pascual said.

But these reported numbers are believed to be far below the actual cases. Even among hospitalized and fatal cases, one-third are reported. The rate of reported cases among those not hospitalized is believed to be much lower, perhaps under 10 percent.

The Stealth Factor

Pertussis is a bacterial infection of the air passages leading to the lungs, plugging them with thick mucus. The organism, Bordetella pertussis, has a number of weapons, including toxins that attack and destroy the protective hair cells that line the respiratory tract.

Even though the infection is bacterial, it rarely causes a fever, and certainly not the raging fever that prompts someone to seek immediate medical care.

The classic symptom of pertussis is, as the common name implies, a whooping cough � 5 to 15 consecutive forceful coughs on a single breath followed by a high-pitched whoop as the victim rapidly and deeply inhales. Moments later, another round of coughing occurs, sometimes accompanied by gagging and vomiting.

Unfortunately, in the most contagious stage of the disease, the characteristic coughing spells have not yet started. Rather, the illness begins insidiously, more or less like a common cold, with sneezing, a runny nose, the loss of appetite, listlessness and an annoying cough that can interfere with sleep. No fever and no whoops that might warn a person to see a doctor.

Furthermore, adults with the infection may never experience the classic cough, although persistent coughing lasts for weeks and can take its toll on stamina and quality of life. With or without treatment, the illness persists for three weeks to three months (seven weeks on average), long after the bacteria are no longer present. Even after recovery, classic coughing fits may recur for months afterward whenever the person develops an upper respiratory infection that irritates the damaged airways.

Rarely is pertussis more than a debilitating annoyance for adolescents and adults. Most carry on with their usual lives, unwittingly spreading the disease to others at school, work or home, including those who are most vulnerable to serious, even life-threatening, complications � mainly infants, the elderly and people with weakened immunity.

The bacteria are transmitted to others through coughs or sneezes � rarely through contact with contaminated articles � and invade the nose, throat, trachea and bronchial tubes. The typical incubation period is one to two weeks before symptoms appear in a newly infected person.

About two-thirds of infants who contract pertussis become seriously ill, and many have to be hospitalized. It is not uncommon for infected infants to choke, turn blue and develop convulsions or life-threatening pneumonia. Ear infections often accompany pertussis in children.

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