U.S. Pertussis Outbreak Could Be Worst in Half Century

Hey kids! Speaking of vaccines (earlier post), pretty please with sugar on top: get a DTaP booster. Check out your local health department clinic (usually faster to go through them than a doctor's office). The disease is a nuisance for most 'healthy' adults (a cough for 100 days!) but it kills babies as it will dramatically constrict their respiratory passages. And nobody wants to kill babies...

Via medscape.com, Laura Meyers

SEATTLE (Reuters) Jul 20 - The number of U.S. whooping cough cases has risen to around 18,000 in an outbreak that is on track to become the most severe in over a half century and could in part stem from possible waning vaccine protection, health officials said on Thursday.

Washington state, which declared an epidemic in April, and Wisconsin were particularly hard hit, with each reporting more than 3,000 cases, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Nine people have died overall and the number of cases was already more than double than at the same time last year.

All adults, including pregnant women, should get a booster shot because the contagious illness is especially dangerous for children under a year old who have yet to complete a cycle of vaccinations, Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, told a media briefing.

"It's most dangerous for babies," Dr. Schuchat said, adding that the current outbreak at its existing pace could become the most severe since 1959, when 40,000 cases were reported. "Preventing infant deaths from the disease is our primary national goal," she said.

A spike in pertussis cases among 10-, 13- and 14-year-olds was a concern, perhaps an indicator that the pertussis vaccine may be wearing off earlier than anticipated, Washington Health Secretary Mary Selecky said.

The U.S. groups of 10-, 13- and 14-year-olds who are experiencing a high illness rate had DTaP vaccinations, which were introduced in 1997 at the same time that the prior DTP vaccine was discontinued.

The earlier vaccine used whole cell parts made of killed pertussis bacteria, while DTaP uses only small acellular bacteria pieces, not the whole bacteria cell, said Donn Moyer, Washington state Health Department spokesman

CDC officials will begin an investigation in Washington state later this month "to analyze our data for cases among 13- to 14-year-olds to see what can be learned about disease rates and vaccination status," Moyer told Reuters.

The number of cases in Washington, with no deaths, has tripled since April, with 1,132 cases reported by the end of that month.

Moyer said the CDC also plans a similar study in California, where a 2010 epidemic counted more than 9,000 cases, including 10 infant deaths.

Earlier this week, New York state released preliminary figures showing 970 cases so far in 2012. In all of 2011, there were 931 cases reported in New York. (See Reuters Health report of July 18, 2012.)

This year, Australia is also experiencing a high rate of whooping cough, Schuchat said
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Countdown begins!

It's T minus 27 days until the nursing program begins. I feel that I have most of my shit together: bought the required (OVERPRICED) white scrubs and textbooks (used from amazon.com sellers), registered for classes, and got fingerprinted and an official student nurse name badge. The summer was spent getting all of my medical history together. Cuesta requires proof that you are immune to diptheria, tetanus, pertussis,measles, mumps, rubella, varicella, hepatitis B and the flu (shot still to come in the fall!). In addition, you must get a 2 step TB test to prove you're not infected. I was happy to see that this was wicked cheap at the County Health Department *be sure to mention you're entering nursing school and you'll get it for that discounted price--approx $18 per stick. Basically, the 2-step test meant that I went in, got the intradermal injection, came back a week later to get a second injection and then the nurse read that second test 48 hours later. Yes, I passed.
The immunity proof went fairly smoothly, as I had record of a recent DTaP shot and titer reports from the lab on Hep B. I figured I'd do the same for my MMR and varicella. I got my blood drawn and varicella antibodies were great, as were measles and rubella. However: I found out I am not 'immune' to mumps. Very weird. Cuesta requires proof of antibody titers or 2 MMR shots. I have record of at least 2 MMR boosters in the military, and by my count I've had at least 6 lifetime MMR shots. But the titer was still not high enough to pass. After discussing it with the nurse at public health, I decided to go ahead and get another booster--just to be safe. She gave me a discount, since it's for nursing school: $24 (normally $75, plus some more fees!). I got a helluva discount on CPR training with Steph Ponti, who runs hearthero.org. She's great! Finally, I had a physical with drug testing performed at Med Stop in San Luis Obispo. These guys really were terrific. No appointment, but I had to wait no longer than 20 minutes.

Our nursing school class has a facebook page and I am enjoying getting to know the online personalities of everyone that's posted so far. I think we have a great group of people--varied ages and life experiences. It should be fascinating to work with these folks!