Whooping Cough on the Increase

[Mimi]

I offer this up because I believe it is a sign of the times. Note the reported increase of this miserable disease.

DENVER -- With whooping cough cases increasing, Colorado is expanding its program to vaccinate family members of newborns.

Colorado has averaged 232 reported pertussis cases annually during 2007-2009, according to Joni Reynolds, director the state's Immunization Program at the Department of Public Health and Environment.

Almost 170 pertussis cases have been reported in Colorado from January to August, with noticeably more cases in September than usual, she said.  

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/25226286/detail.htmlDaughter has been in and out of Colorado for the past several months. Because Pertussis is a highly contagious disease, she contracted it and brought it home. I have had it for the past six weeks and the lingering coughing bouts are finally spaced further and further apart. She immediately got medical treatment and quickly recovered while I depended on home remedies that were not all that effective, probably because I did not carry them out to the letter, plus I was not convinced it was anything other than a sinus infection morphing into a URI. Nocturnal fevers and extreme prolonged fatigue accompany this awful illness that was finally diagnosed as Whooping Cough.
California Declares Whooping Cough Outbreak to be Epidemic
2010-06-28 02:06:20 (GMT) (JusticeNewsFlash.com - Justice News Flash, Press Release)

06/25/2010 // West Palm Beach, FL, USA // Sandra Quinlan // Sandra Quinlan

Los Angeles, CA—The state of California has deemed an outbreak of “whooping cough” to be an epidemic, noting that if cases continue to accumulate as they have thus far, the epidemic could be the worst seen in the last 50 years. The number of cases seen this year are a whopping 400 percent higher than those seen last year, according to a June 24, 2010 CBS News report.

http://www.justicenewsflash.com/2010/06/28/california-whooping-cough-epidemic_201006284819.html
Look at this California chart of disease outbreaks. Pertussis is an interesting one, outrunning Hepatitis strains. California noted in the article shown above, this year - 2010, shows a 400% increase over 2009. Unbelievable!

http://www.whyichoose.org/outbreaks.html

What you may think is a cold or sinus infection, or even an upper respiratory infection, can be Whopping Cough. Try as you may, while you are in the throes of it (fever included) you cannot cough anything up to clear the throat or lungs. The cough is that dry. I noticed only toward the end, can you actually begin to rid both throat and lungs of accumulated gunk and even then it can cause a tremendous gag reflex to ensue. Oh, what misery.

There has been only one positive outcome to this. I lost about 20 pounds (way too quickly) and have tighter abs as a result of so much coughing. Not a pretty way to shape up!  

[Mimi]

Clinical Manifestations

The incubation period of pertussis averages 7--10 days (range: 5--21 days) (6,10) and has been reported to be as long as 6 weeks (11,12). Pertussis has an insidious onset with catarrhal symptoms (nasal congestion, runny nose, mild sore-throat, mild dry cough, and minimal or no fever) that are indistinguishable from those of minor respiratory tract infections. Some infants can have atypical disease and initially have apneic spells and minimal cough or other respiratory symptoms. The catarrhal stage last approximately 1--2 weeks. The cough, which is initially intermittent, becomes paroxysmal. A typical paroxysm is characterized by a succession of coughs that follow each other without inspiration. Paroxysms terminate in typical cases with inspiratory "whoop" and can be followed by posttussive vomiting. Although children are often exhausted after a coughing paroxysm, they usually appear relatively well between episodes. Paroxysms of cough usually increase in frequency and severity as the illness progresses and usually persist for 2--6 weeks. Paroxysms can occur more frequently at night. The illness can be milder and the characteristic whoop absent in children, adolescents, and adults who were previously vaccinated.

Convalescence is gradual and protracted. The severity of illness wanes, paroxysms subside, and the frequency of coughing bouts decreases. A nonparoxysmal cough can continue for 2--6 weeks or longer. During the recovery period, superimposed viral respiratory infections can trigger a recurrence of paroxysms.

Patients with pertussis often have substantial weight loss and sleep disturbance (13). Conditions resulting from the effects of the pressure generated by severe coughing include pneumothorax, epistaxis, subconjunctival hemorrhage, subdural hematoma, hernia, rectal prolapse, urinary incontinence, and rib fracture (14). Some infections are complicated by primary or secondary bacterial pneumonia and otitis media. Infrequent neurologic complications include seizures and hypoxic encephalopathy.

Adolescents and adults with unrecognized or untreated pertussis contribute to the reservoir of B. pertussis in the community. Patients with pertussis are most infectious during the catarrhal stage and during the first 3 weeks after cough onset. Pertussis is highly infectious; the secondary attack rate exceeds 80% among susceptible persons (15,16). Unvaccinated or incompletely vaccinated infants aged <12 months have the highest risk for severe and life-threatening complications and death (5,8,17--25). - http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5414a1.htm

[Richard Myers]

Yes, disease is increasing in the world for plants, animals, and humans. It is a sign of the end. You are in our prayers.

[Mimi]

From ABC News. This is not going away - it's getting worse!

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Health/whooping-cough-epidemic-california/story?id=11882609

[Tamara]

Whooping cough has hit a high in Australia to now!
Is very scary really, there are so many radio warnings in our area at the moment about it wanting everyone to be vaccinated or have booster shots. Alot of new mothers are worried about bringing their babies to church incase someone has it and passes it on...

[Vicki]

About the time our child was at the age to receive the Pertussiss (whooping cough) vaccination there were several (I think 9) young ones in the hospital who had whooping cough. These babies had received the vaccination. The vaccination does not prevent whooping cough, but supposedly, if it is contracted, the illness won't be as severe.

I'd just keep my little one more cloistered for awhile.

[Tamara]

About the time our child was at the age to receive the Pertussiss (whooping cough) vaccination there were several (I think 9) young ones in the hospital who had whooping cough. These babies had received the vaccination. The vaccination does not prevent whooping cough, but supposedly, if it is contracted, the illness won't be as severe.

I'd just keep my little one more cloistered for awhile.

Very true, my youngest brother got it a few weeks after having his whooping cough vaccination and he was nowhere near as bad as my sister was when she had it without being vaccinated. It is certainly not a very nice disease to have going around :\ Amazingly I have not heard of measles, mumps, chickenpocks or the likes going around at the moment just whooping cough!

[Vicki]

That must have been horrible to watch them go through. I've never seen someone with the illness, but a church member described how it effected her son when he was very young and it is terrible. We've had serious accidents & illnesses to deal with, but never not being able to breathe.

[Mimi]

The cough can leave you breathless, actually unable to inhale for a period of time. The coughing can be so severe it can break a rib and cause you to vomit. It is no light-weight illness. Add to that rapid weight loss, fevers and night sweats and you are most miserable for quite some time.