CDC: Whooping cough cases may be most in 5 decades

[UnrepentantLiberal]

AP
Jul 19, 2012

ATLANTA (AP) -- Health officials say the nation is on track to have the worst year for whooping cough in more than five decades. Nearly 18,000 cases have been reported so far -- more than twice the number seen at this point last year. At this pace, the number of whooping cough cases will surpassp every year since 1959.

"There is a lot of this out there, and there may be more coming to a place near you," Dr. Anne Schuchat of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday. Wisconsin and Washington state each have reported more than 3,000 cases, and high numbers have been seen in a number of other states, including New York, Minnesota, Kansas and Arizona.

Whooping cough, or pertussis, is a highly contagious bacterial disease. It leads to severe coughing that causes children to make a distinctive whooping sound as they gasp for breath. In rare cases it can be fatal, and nine children have died so far this year.

Whooping cough used to cause hundreds of thousands of illnesses a year but cases fell after a vaccine was introduced in the 1940s. Starting in the late 1960s, fewer than 5,000 cases were reported annually in the United States, for a stretch of about 25 years. But the numbers started to rise in the 1990s.

More: http://www.weau.com/mobi?storyid=163054966

[xchrom]

1. Du rec. Nt

[Archae]

2. Thanks a lot, anti-vaxxer kooks!

[UnrepentantLiberal]

5. This is only going to get worse.

[PADemD]

3. 1959

That's the year I got it. Never again! Got a booster shot two years ago.

The immunity wears off. Do yourself a favor and get a booster shot.

[murielm99]

4. I got it some time in the early fifties,

according to my mother. I will ask for a booster shot in the near future, too.

I don't remember having it, but it scared my parents.

[PADemD]

6. For people who have never had the whooping cough, let me tell you what it was like.

For a whole month, I woke up every night and morning with an asthma-like coughing fit, struggling to catch my breath. Every time I ate something, I coughed it up. Imagine feeling extremely hungry for a whole month, but not being able to keep any food or liquid down. I went from 100 to 80 pounds, and my ribs ached from the constant coughing.

YOU DO NOT WANT TO GET WHOOPING COUGH! THE IMMUNITY WEARS OFF. IF IT HAS BEEN 10 YEARS SINCE YOU HAD A PERTUSSIS SHOT, GET A BOOSTER!

[UnrepentantLiberal]

7. That sounds awful.

I should take your advice and get that booster shot.

[peacefreak]

8. My daughter & her littlest one are part of the statistics.

Her friend taught a child that wasn't immunized. The friend caught it, her newborn did also. Everyone is fine, now, but this is a perfect example of how easily it spreads through the community. Get your immunizations, folks!