~Infants under two months old are unprotected
SIKESTON - Remembered by many as one of the serious diseases of the past that have been eradicated or we no longer fear thanks to vaccinations, whooping cough's reputation as a deadly disease is well-deserved. Before a vaccine and antibiotics were found, there was a high mortality rate from the disease.
Named for the sound made by breathless victims during the violent coughing attacks that are among the disease's symptoms, whooping cough, or "pertussis," is still a very serious disease for infants.
"It can kill babies," said Sheila Wilson of Sikeston, whose four-month-old daughter, Mandy, was treated for whooping cough. "She got it when she was about a month old."
Infants under two months old are not protected as they are only immunized for Hepatitis B at birth. Most of their immunizations are given for the first time at two months old when they get a series of four shots which immunize the child against seven different diseases.
Dr. Marisol Fernandez, pediatrician and infectious disease specialist, said the reason children are not immunized earlier or even at birth for whooping cough is because the immune system is not ready to respond at earlier ages to its vaccine. "You don't get a good response."
Routine immunizations are given at two months, four months and six months for whooping cough. Boosters are given at 15 months and 4 years old.
Unfortunately, the vaccination wears off, usually during the teen years. "The antibodies are not lifelong," said Fernandez. "If there is a little baby in the same household with a teen there is a good chance the baby will get pertussis."
Fernandez said there is research looking into the possibility of re-vaccinating children at age 10 or 11, weighing the benefit against side effects, the body's response and how long a second immunization would last.
"Parents need to be aware of what's going on so if their children have the symptoms they can go in and get checked for it," said Wilson. "They didn't know what it is in the beginning."
Mandy is "still coughing but she's doing pretty well," Wilson reported.
Fernandez said Mandy's case is the only one she's diagnosed during her two years in Sikeston, but with the respiratory viral infection known as "RSV" going around and the regular seasonal influenza, "any infant with a persistent cough" should see their doctor.
The cough from pertussis usually lasts two to three weeks, but can linger for much longer - even months.
For infants, "complications are major with pertussis," according to Fernandez. Recently there have not been any deaths from whooping cough reported that she is aware of although one recent case required an infant to be placed on a ventilator for treatment.