Pertussis Cases Far and Near

I actually chose to outline two current events, in different places, that correlate strongly with each other. The first article is one from Australia. The article is titled Increase in Whooping Cough in Preschoolers May be Due to Removal of Booster Jab. The article was posted on November 15, 2014, written by Sue Dunlevy, and it points out two factors that could be causing the increases in pertussis worldwide. The first factor, which can be deduced from the title, has to do with new vaccines wearing off sooner than previous applications for pertussis, effectively rendering children defenseless. The reason the switch was made to these vaccines was because

Pertactin Molecule

of less severe side effects. They are now currently looking into re-administering the 18 month booster dose and urging people to keep up with the proper vaccination schedules, in order to lengthen protection of the vaccination. Currently we are also seeing children whose parents have kept up on vaccinations still contracting the full-blown illness. This points out the second and most alarming factor. We are now seeing pertussis bacteria mutating to evade our vaccines. To briefly outline the mutation, it has to do with a specific protein pertactin, which is a protein that helps pertussis bacteria adhere to the linings of our airways. All current vaccines have pertactin in them so the body can build antibodies to combat the protein when encountered. As of 2013, researchers began finding strains of Pertussis that were pertactin. Current research shows these new pertactin-negative strains are as transmissible as known pertactin-positive strains. As a result, research is being done to sequence the genes of pertactin-negative strains in an attempt to find an alternate target protein to add into current vaccines to help combat the newer strains. New South Wales researchers have found 80% of pertussis cases in the state were in fact caused by mutated pertussis strains.  

I chose a second article because this article hits a little closer to home than cases in Australia. This article was titled GT County Whooping Cough Cases Continue to Increase and was written by Sarah Elms on November 14, 2014. It is about a current pertussis endemic occurring in Traverse City Public Schools in Michigan. This outbreak began and forced the Grand Traverse Academy, a k-12 charter school, to close for the week to prevent the spread of the bacteria. Mike Lahey, coordinator with the health department, has confirmed 15 cases with a possible 167 cases linked to the school. He also notes the health department has confirmed at least one additional case of pertussis since Wednesday, November 12, 2014. This article correlates to the first factor in the other article because of the 15 cases, ten were either not vaccinated or properly up to date on their immunizations.

Until people begin to realize the severity of this bacteria and how easily it is for children to contract, cases will continue to rise. It is essential parents keep up with childhood vaccination schedules. Pertussis is a highly contagious, person to person spread disease. It can be spread by the simple act of coughing or sneezing while in close contact with others, who in turn breathe in the pertussis bacteria. Although the disease does not affect adults as severely as children, adults act as a viable transmission source to children. Adults who have the disease may simply think they have a cold and continue to interact with their child unknowing they harbor a potentially deadly disease to children. Keeping up to date on vaccinations is the only real way to combat the disease and currently, even that is not stopping the transmission. This blog is not to scare anyone, but rather to inform people on a particularly dangerous disease. 

 

This video is a sad example of the severity of whooping cough and how an adult can unknowingly pass this disease to their child. My condolences to the Charles Family for their loss.

 

References

Dunlevy, S. (2014, November 15). Increase in Whooping Cough in Preschoolers May be Due to  Removal of Booster Jab. Retrieved November 16, 2014, from http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/increase-in-whooping-cough-in-preschoolers-may-be-due-to-removal-of-booster-jab/story-e6frg6n6-1227123589057?nk=b01ae48631184a

Elms, S. (2014, November 14). GT County whooping cough cases continue to increase. Retrieved November 16, 2014, from http://www.record-eagle.com/news/local_news/update-gt-county-whooping-cough-cases-continue-to-increase/article_3e02a954-c06a-5f00-9c7a-d97411b40b0f.html 

PBS NewsHour (2012, August 22). Losing a Baby to Whooping Cough: One Woman's Story [Video File] Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wV0cxeg8xCY

Pertussis and its Significance

Significance

Every 20 seconds a child (aged 0-5) dies from a vaccine preventable disease worldwide (Thomas, 2013). Pertussis, more commonly known as whooping cough, is just one of many vaccine-preventable diseases largely affecting children. As of 2012, there were 48,277 reported cases of Pertussis in the United States alone, including twenty pertussis-related deaths. This marks the most reported cases of Pertussis since 1955. The numbers are only rising, the number of cases in August 2014 was on pace to exceed the number of cases seen in the 2013 by the end of the year (“PertussisOutbreak,” 2014). In 2008, the World Health Organization estimated about 16 million cases occurred worldwide and about 195,000 cases resulted in death (“Pertussis,” 2011). Most deaths occur within the first four months of birth because babies in this range are simply too young to be vaccinated.Pertussis stands to be a major issue plaguing society.

What Is Pertussis?

Bordetella Pertussis

Pertussis is a very contagious respiratory infection caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis. This bacterium produces a toxin that damages the tiny sweeping hairs that coat the lining of the lungs, preventing them from clearing the airways of mucus and the microbial invaders (McKenna, 2013). With high contagious properties, pertussis can spread very rapidly, via mucus droplets in coughing and sneezing, which makes it extremely dangerous. Another dangerous aspect of pertussis is the incubation period, which is the period in which symptoms develop. With an incubation period of up to three weeks, notably longer than a common cold and other upper respiratory infections, pertussis infections can remain in the body unnoticed leaving a parent to think a baby is healthy. Even after the incubation period, symptoms can lead parents to believe the baby just has a cold. The calling card symptom of the disease is the whooping sound the cough makes, which can be heard in the video below. This is where pertussis gets its common name from. Pertussis exists in three stages, the catarrhal, the paroxysmal, and the convalescent or recovery stage. Pertussis can result in death, usually from complications most commonly associated with pneumonia. It is also important to note that adults, as well as babies, can also contract the disease. Although the disease is less threatening to an adult, they can effectively act as carriers of the disease and pass on to children (“Vaccines and Immunizations,” 2014).  

An Ongoing Debate

Currently there is an ongoing debate in the area of getting vaccinated. This stems from one side believing vaccinations may cause devastating side effects and noting diseases may still be prevalent even though vaccines are widely administered. On the other hand, we have those who believe getting vaccinated is essential for preventing possible epidemics. In the 1940s before vaccinations were administered, there was an estimated 270,000 reported cases, 10,000 of which resulted in deaths (Libster and Edwards. 2012). According to the Centers for Disease Control, due to vaccination administration currently seeing about 10,000-40,000 reported cases annually. As statistics show, the administration of Pertussis vaccinations greatly decreased the number of occurring cases, but people refusing to get vaccinated is aiding the current spread of Pertussis. Another aspect attributed to the current rise of the disease is the ability of the disease to mutate. We are now seeing trains of Pertussis, with different characteristics, never before seen that our vaccinations simply cannot combat.  

 References

Libster, R., & Edwards, K. M. (2012). Re-emergence of Pertussis: What are the Solutions?. Expert Review of Vaccines, 11(11), 1331-1346. Retrieved September 13, 2014, from the PubMeb database.

Mckenna, M. (2013). The Pertussis Parable. Scientific American, 309(4), 34-36. Retrieved September 10, 2014, from the Medline database.

Pertussis. (2011, June 21). Retrieved November 12, 2014, from http://www.who.int/immunization/topics/pertussis/en

Pertussis Outbreak Trends. (2014, August 27). Retrieved November 5, 2014, from http://www.cdc.gov/pertussis/outbreaks/trends.html

Stöppler, M. C. (2013). Whooping Cough: Facts About Pertussis Vaccine and Treatment. MedicineNet. Retrieved September 14, 2014, from http://www.medicinenet.com/pertussis/article.htm#what_is_whooping_cough_what

Thomas, D. (2013, February 4). Top bloggers lend their voices to February celebration of the impact of global vaccines. Retrieved November 12, 2014, from http://www.unfoundation.org/news-and-media/press-releases/2013/top-bloggers-lend-their-voices-to-february-celebration.html

Vaccines and Immunizations. (2014, August 19). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved September 14, 2014, from http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vac-gen/side-effects.htm