Male: Doctor Marcus, is the term we use in medicine called the 100 day cough, whooping cough, is that otherwise decline, we vaccinate kids for it so, can we even concern about it now?
Doctor: Whooping cough or Pertussis was a serious respiratory track infection 50 years ago. We started vaccinating children for whooping cough pertussis many years ago and for a while we saw a very nice decrease in the episode of whooping cough in children. And I fact in very young children, it is uncommon to see whooping cough. However, what we have seen is two things; first, there are occasional children who do not get protected by the vaccine that we commonly administer and that is true for all vaccines, no vaccine is perfect. These children can get whooping cough; we also know that there are several other types of viruses and even bacteria that can give you a disease that looks like whooping cough even though it is not pertussis. These bacteria and viruses, we do not have immunizations for. And thereby, we can have a disease that is called whooping cough even though it is been cause by a different organism. We also know that vaccines do not last forever. Generally speaking, the effect of that vaccine we are so off over 5 to 10 year period. After the patient have been vaccinated as a child, by the time they are an adolescent or young adult, that vaccine benefit has worn off. And so some patients are still at risks for developing whooping cough at that point. Whoever, instead of the standard whoop that we use to think about, what they have is just prolong period of this nagging harsh cough lasting up to 3 months. Without question, whooping cough is a potentially life threatening illness as especially in the very young. Whooping cough leads to severe inflammation of the airways; it can lead to blockage of airflow to the lungs, can grab the brain of oxygen and can if not properly cared for lead to death. Therefore, it is still very important that children be vaccinated for pertussis during their childhood and infancy to prevent this serious infection for making a big come back.
Male: There had been some parents who have refused vaccines and their kids actually got whooping cough, did that happen?
Doctor: Absolutely, there had been a number of cases in the literature where refusal of vaccination by individual parents and even by certain communities has lead to epidemics of this infection to come down. We know that bacteria causing whooping cough is out there, we have not eliminated it from the world and it will come back very rapidly if we let our guard down and stop vaccinating our children.
Male: In fact in England, there was a period where they have stopped vaccinate kids and the epidemic has came back, could go back and do it again.
Doctor: We have seen this over and over again whenever that situation occurs, the minute you stop vaccinating, this infection returns with serious consequences.
Male: Is a new vaccine targeted for kids over 11, then now, we now can give a pertussis vaccine to older kids, is that true?
Doctor: There it is and it is a vaccine which has eliminated many of the concerns and side effects that previous vaccines and it allows you to boost those children after that 10 year window has come, whereby, the original vaccination’s serious effect has worn off.
Male: Young mothers who get pregnant, who have no protection against whooping cough, can whooping during pregnancy, is that a problem?
Doctor: It is certainly can be a problem; it could lead to a decrease in oxygen levels in the blood and lead to problems with the problems with the developing fetus.
Male: So sometimes, people are being treated for asthma or some viral pneumonia and actuality in a prolong cough, it could be whooping cough.
Doctor: It is certainly a candidate and I think that the message here is that, if you have a symptom that persist and is not responding to the first line of treatment being given, re-evaluate the patient and make sure you are treating the proper disease.
Male: A simple blood test checking for an antibody or pertussis does not mean you have the di
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