Whooping Cough

[Guest guest]

This came to me. I see it as a good argument against routine vaccination

of healthy children! Now we have adults carrying a disease they never

used to. What do you think?

Whooping cough ``common'' among adults NEW YORK, Aug 26

(Reuters) -- Up to 25% of adults who see doctors for a

persistent

cough have pertussis (whooping cough), although many cases

of the

infection are never diagnosed, according to a report in the

August

issue of the Southern Medical Journal.

In adults with healthy immune systems, whooping cough

usually

causes mild symptoms, such as coughing, a low-grade fever,

and a

runny nose. Due to widespread pertussis vaccination in

childhood,

many doctors are unaware that the infection can occur in

adults.

However, the vaccine loses its effectiveness over time.

Thus, an

infected adult may have a mild case, but spread the

bacteria to a

young, unvaccinated child, in whom the illness can be

life-threatening. Before a vaccine for whooping cough was

introduced in the 1940s, the infection was the leading

killer of

children in the US, notes the study author, Dr. Seth W.

of

Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.

The number of reported US cases of pertussis reached a low

of 1,010

in 1976, but has been rising since, reports. An

average of

more than 4,600 cases were reported annually between 1990

and

1995. And over the last two decades, the proportion of

cases in

adolescents and adults rose from 15.1% to 26.9%, he writes.

Caused by a bacterium called Bordetella pertussis, whooping

cough

can be treated with antibiotics. While antibiotic treatment

has not been

shown to improve symptoms, it appears to render the

infection less

contagious, according to . Giving preventive doses of

antibiotics to family members of those with the infection

can also

lower the odds that they will contract the infection, he

writes.

``In particular, prophylaxis of unvaccinated infants, who

are at the

greatest risk for serious disease, should be considered,''

he suggests.

told Reuters Health that physicians should suspect

pertussis in

patients with persistent cough, or those who report that

others around

them at work or in a dormitory are also coughing.

Some experts recommend booster vaccines for adolescents and

adults,

but the present vaccine causes more severe side effects in

adults than

children, notes. A new acellular form of the

vaccine, now

being tested in adults, appears to be effective and better

tolerated, he

reports.

If studies confirm that the new vaccine is effective and

well-tolerated,

``booster immunizations of adults would appear to be

warranted,''

concludes in his report. ``The routine use of the

(new) vaccine

in adults may eventually lead to increased control of

pertussis, both in

children and adults.''

SOURCE: Southern Medical Journal 1998;91:702-708.