If you thought this dreaded scourge of children was gone, then gear up for a rude shock because whooping cough is back with a vengeance. Hospitals are now warning that a “whooping cough’ epidemic is all set to hit US kids late in spring and parents should be ready to prevent or safeguard their children against it.
Whooping cough is also known as pertussis. Its fatality rate is one in 500 babies who are diagnosed with the disease. Every three to five years, the US sees an outbreak of whooping cough which rarely affects adults because of an available vaccine.
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Whooping cough or pertussis is so named because of the distinct “whooping” sound made during coughing spasms because of the attempt to inhale after every cough which can take your breath away or even choke. Currently Georgia has reported an increase in cases while California hospitals are gearing up for the outbreak expected this year in late spring.
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Whooping cough is highly infectious and is named after the whoop sound made by patients. While not so serious in adults, it can have complications if not treated which could then lead to conditions like pneumonia. In children and infants, whooping cough can have fatal results especially in those who haven’t received vaccinations.
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Whooping cough or pertussis spikes every three or five years where the last outbreak in the US was in 2012. According to the CDC (US center for disease and prevention) website “whooping cough is a serious disease that can cause babies to stop breathing. You can help protect babies from whooping cough by getting your vaccine and making sure your baby gets vaccinated.”
More information can be derived from the website which explains how the disease if not nipped in the bud can be fatal because of complications of pneumonia and sometime choking or loss of breath.
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While whooping cough is an infectious disease that can be passed on from child to child through coughing and sneezing, the infection could also be passed onto babies and kids by parents, older kids and caregivers who won’t even know they have the disease.
In the last outbreak of 2012, health officials blamed it on fewer people opting for vaccinations. They have also revealed that they don’t even understand what the pattern that is behind such outbreaks is and the one expected this spring.
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California is on the highest alert because an outbreak in 2014 reported 11,000 cases and the deaths of two infants. According to Dr. Dean Blumberg, chief of pediatric infectious diseases at UC Davis Children’s hospital, 'This year is likely to be an epidemic year,' he told the Sacremento Bee. “'We would expect toward late spring a ramping up of cases,' he added of California. In Georgia, health officials warned of an increase in cases reported from the area.
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In whooping cough, at least one in five infants can die because of complications like apnea, seizure and pneumonia. In certain cases, babies are unable to cough and this stops them from breathing making them turn blue because of lack of oxygen. The disease is not much of a problem in adults but the worst part about it is that 70 % of cases affecting children are transmitted from adults.
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Experts are now warning people of all ages to get vaccinated. In 3012, there was a staggering 48,277 cases in comparison to a lesser number of cases in 2016 which was 17,972. Pertussis rates have dropped by 80% since the forties because of vaccination but that is still nothing to be relived about because if one baby dies, that number means nothing to its mother. It may sound a harsh statement but a practical one at that.
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The vaccine that children need to take for whooping cough is called the DTaP which is a five time vaccine before the ages of two and then a booster after age four for thorough immunization against whooping cough, diphtheria and tetanus. Your child’s pediatrician or local hospital will inform you about the vaccination schedule.
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During a whooping cough epidemic, adults around children are recommended to immunize themselves to reduce the risk of coming in contact with the disease. The whooping cough vaccine for adults (and adolescents) is called Tdap (tetanus-diphtheria-acellular pertussis). For more information of the disease, read all of the links in this article that lead to government websites providing accurate information of the disease and what you can do about it.
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The fewer people vaccinated leads to the disease spreading like wildfire warn health officials. Pregnant women to should get vaccinated with the Tdap vaccine between 27 and 36 weeks of the gestation period so that the antibodies are transferred to the baby growing in the womb.
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Doctors at the UC Davis Children’s hospital are preparing for the outbreak and have even developed a test for pertussis that can be the same as any other viral testing where doctors can detect the disease in its early stages because its symptoms are similar to flu.
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The biggest disadvantage of whooping cough is that the disease is detected too late and once it gets hold of you, the disease has to run its course because antibiotics at this stage are useless against the disease. It then boils down to proper management of the disease instead and prevention of complications. Medication in the early stages when detected can do much to ward of the major effects of the disease.
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If you or your child develops symptoms of flu, immediately go to a doctor. Natural remedies may be helpful in the management of a disease but in such cases where it concerns the risk of whooping cough, prevention is better than cure any day. For any information and advice the whooping cough epidemic or outbreak in late spring, treatment and vaccination, visit your doctor. Share this article to spread the message.
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