Friday, Jul. 25, 2008
Adult Vaccine Key to Reducing Pertussis
Whooping Cough Cases Have Increased in Denton County
Staff Report
The Messenger
Most parents ensure that their children are up-to-date with vaccines, yet they often forget that adults need vaccines, too.
An adult vaccine may hold the key to reducing pertussis in North Texas. Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, has been on the rise in Denton County. To help fight this trend, public health officials are strongly recommending adults take a look at their own immunization records.
Public health investigators often identify an infected adult or adolescent as the source of pertussis in infants and young children. As we age, immunity from early childhood immunizations fades, leaving adults and adolescents more susceptible to the disease.
Tdap, a vaccine released in 2007, helps to protect adolescents and adults and provides a way to reduce the spread of pertussis in the community. Protecting adolescents and adults can help protect infants and young children who are not yet fully vaccinated, and who are more at risk for severe complications of the disease.
"We know that adults are a reservoir for pertussis in our community," Denton County Health Department [DCHD] Chief Epidemiologist Dr. Jessica Gullion said. "Vaccinating adults with Tdap helps to protect our most vulnerable community members."
Pertussis can be treated by antibiotics, but to protect infants and young children, adults are urged to consider receiving an updated tetanus and diphtheria booster that now contains a pertussis component.
Adolescents and adults should get a booster vaccine called Tdap that protects them from tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis when their tetanus vaccine is due. For most adolescents, that will be around 11-12 years of age. For adults that is every 10 years.
Adolescents who have already gotten a booster dose of Td should wait five years between their last Td and the Tdap. Adults should receive the vaccine if it has been at least two years since their last Td vaccine.
The DCHD offers the Tdap vaccine to eligible recipients in both its Denton and Lewisville offices.
To find out more information on receiving the Tdap vaccine, contact your health care provider or DCHD offices at 940-349-2900 or 972-434-4700.
Pertussis is a bacterial illness that is spread through coughing, sneezing or talking. It begins like a cold, but as it progresses, "coughing fits" start. During a coughing fit, a person may cough ten or more times without catching their breath. Coughing fits are sometimes followed by a "whoop" sound of people catching their breath. Many people vomit after a coughing fit. Between coughing spells, however, the person can seem healthy. Although pertussis can occur at any age, it is most severe in unimmunized children and in infants. The illness can be uncomfortable for adults and adolescents, but for infants, it can be life threatening. For many infants, pertussis requires a hospital stay, and can cause death.
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