AUGUSTA, Maine — Maine health officials issued a public alert Tuesday about the increasing number of whooping cough cases reported this year compared to 2011.
Pertussis, or whooping cough, is a highly communicable, vaccine-preventable disease that can last many weeks. The disease can cause serious illness and can even be life-threatening, especially in infants.
The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported 300 cases of pertussis from Jan. 1 to July 26 in 13 counties. That’s four times the number of cases reported during the same period in 2011. Out of the 205 whooping cough cases reported in 2011, 75 of those were reported during the same period, according to the Maine CDCP website.
Like many other states, Maine has seen a rise in the number of whooping cough cases during the past year. The majority of reported cases occurred among those between the ages of 7 and 19.
Nationally, 37 states reported increases in pertussis cases by early July, with almost 18,000 cases reported to the federal CDC by mid-July.
Maine CDCP reported 15 whooping cough outbreaks in five counties during 2011, including Cumberland, Kennebec, Hancock, Penobscot and Waldo.
Of the 205 reported cases to the CDC in 2011, 137 were in Penobscot County.
As noted, “Pertussis, or whooping cough, is a highly communicable, vaccine-preventable disease.”
Too bad the CDC hasn’t come up with a vaccine to protect against know-it-all parents who, by virtue of having read a few things online, suddenly become immunologists, virologists, medical researchers, etc.
Unfortunately, most say they have the right to claim “religious beliefs” to avoid being looked down upon for their, (how do I put this without offending anyone?) carelessness in what is best for their children in the long run. I am one of the view that was allergic to this vaccine though so I didn’t get any any boosters to it. I am sure after all these years that the first vaccine isn’t even in my system anymore so I hope that I do not see whooping cough in my county! :( Hope those that have this virus recover quickly.
The reemergence of pertussis is a lot more complicated than pointing fingers at the unvaccinated.
The current schedule recommends 5 doses of DTaP given by kindergarten, then a gap of a few years, followed by a booster at age 11-12. Based on the reading I’ve done, many of the children that get pertussis in the 7-10 year old group are “fully vaccinated” according to the CDC recommendations. In many cases, it seems that the problem isn’t unvaccinated children, rather the vaccine’s effectiveness has waned to the point that it no longer protects the child.
It is important to note that the efficacy of the vaccine is typically reported at less than 80 percent, meaning for every 100 people vaccinated, 20 or more are not fully protected despite receiving the shots.
There are mutated strains of pertussis bacteria circulating, which the vaccines are powerless against. Australian and Dutch scientists have been studying the mutation since the 1990s. If you research pertussis outbreaks over the past two decades, there’s a lot of data that shows many of those that fall ill are, in fact, fully vaccinated, so it is possible that they were sickened by one of the newer strains.
Another thing to consider is the percentage of adults that feel that cannot afford to get the Tdap booster every ten years (or do not know they need one, because they can’t afford to go to the doctor).