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Whooping Cough Alert (March 25, 2011)

Nine national organizations of healthcare providers released an advisory letter on March 25. The letter urges anyone who has any contact with infants to get vaccinated for pertussis (whooping cough and bronchitis) to stem a national outbreak.

New U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations for pertussis immunization recommend that all adults, including adults ages 65 and older and all children ages 7 to 10 — get Tdap vaccine. This is in addition to the use of diphtheria-tetanus-accellular pertussis (DTaP) for children 0-6 years of age. Infants, toddlers and preschool age children need time to complete their DTaP series. Until they complete the DTaP series, their protection comes from having those around them immunized.

Pertussis can can occur at all ages. It can cause severe illness and death for infants younger than a year. Pertussis outbreaks have been reported across the country. The most serious epidemic so far is in California. The only way to stop the outbreaks is for all adults who care for young children and all children receive their recommended doses of pertussis vaccine. Nearly 9,500 cases of pertussis were reported in California in 2010. The cases included 10 infant deaths. Early educators should check vaccine records of children and staff to be sure everyone is up-to-date with the current pertussis vaccine recommendations.

The nine organizations backing the advisory letter include the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Nurses Association, American College of Nurse Midwives, Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses, National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners, American Academy of Family Physicians, American College of Physicians, American Medical Association and American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Susan Aronson, MD, FAAP-ECELS Pediatric Advisor