velvetpage (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
velvetpage) wrote2007-11-05 06:10 am
velvetpage) wrote2007-11-05 06:10 am
Entry tags:
Whooping Cough
A little girl who was here playing with Elizabeth on Saturday has been diagnosed with whooping cough. She's had all her vaccinations and she wasn't sick before she left home - she started feeling poorly after dinner. Which is to say, I don't blame the family at all.
In other words, at least two families who have done everything they're supposed to do in regards to preventing the spread of this disease, have come in contact with it - probably as a result of someone at this little girl's school who DIDN'T have their vaccinations up-to-date. The problem is rampant in Southern Ontario, especially Toronto - it's estimated that only about fifty percent of kids have their vaccines up-to-date, and fewer adults than that have had their booster shots. (I have - I got it when I got my tetanus shot about two months ago, and now I'm glad I did.)
Now, chances are that even if someone in my family contracts it, they'll have a fairly mild case. We're vaccinated, and recently, though Claire's eighteen-month vax is coming up in a couple of weeks. But the chances of contracting that mild case are about thirty percent, because increased immunity is not complete immunity. Being overtired, being a little under the weather with something else, being in need of some better vitamins, or just plain bad luck with a struggling immune system, can all make people more vulnerable. That's why, in order for a vaccination program to prevent outbreaks, the vast majority of the population needs to be up-to-date on their vaccinations.
Two of the people who were there on Saturday work closely with kids. Some of my students and colleagues have small babies at home. I'm going to mention to one of those that, if their baby hasn't had her shots yet, she should get them now, just in case I get sick and her father brings it home. It's a long shot, but pretty baby Lily should be protected against it even so.
I repeat, I'm not upset at the family in question. They were doing everything they should have done, and informed everyone of the diagnosis as soon as they had received it so we could take steps. No, I'm angry at the large number of Torontonians (and other Ontarians) who think that they're safe because whooping cough has been so rare for the last few decades. I'm angry at the people advising parents, erroneously, that vaccines are worse than the diseases they prevent. I'm angry at the family doctors and other health professionals who don't take enough measures to get their patients in for their well-baby visits, including shots. I'm angry at a provincial government that has known about this problem for several years and has yet to put a comprehensive, community-level vaccination program in effect. This is a public health issue, and our public health officials haven't done anything about it.
Any adults who read this who come in regular contact with my family are advised to ensure that their booster shots are up-to-date. You're supposed to have one every ten years to be fully protected; if it's been more than eight or you can't remember, get another. Whooping cough is usually not that serious for adults, or even older children; the risk is that the adults will transmit it to a newborn baby, who could die.
In other words, at least two families who have done everything they're supposed to do in regards to preventing the spread of this disease, have come in contact with it - probably as a result of someone at this little girl's school who DIDN'T have their vaccinations up-to-date. The problem is rampant in Southern Ontario, especially Toronto - it's estimated that only about fifty percent of kids have their vaccines up-to-date, and fewer adults than that have had their booster shots. (I have - I got it when I got my tetanus shot about two months ago, and now I'm glad I did.)
Now, chances are that even if someone in my family contracts it, they'll have a fairly mild case. We're vaccinated, and recently, though Claire's eighteen-month vax is coming up in a couple of weeks. But the chances of contracting that mild case are about thirty percent, because increased immunity is not complete immunity. Being overtired, being a little under the weather with something else, being in need of some better vitamins, or just plain bad luck with a struggling immune system, can all make people more vulnerable. That's why, in order for a vaccination program to prevent outbreaks, the vast majority of the population needs to be up-to-date on their vaccinations.
Two of the people who were there on Saturday work closely with kids. Some of my students and colleagues have small babies at home. I'm going to mention to one of those that, if their baby hasn't had her shots yet, she should get them now, just in case I get sick and her father brings it home. It's a long shot, but pretty baby Lily should be protected against it even so.
I repeat, I'm not upset at the family in question. They were doing everything they should have done, and informed everyone of the diagnosis as soon as they had received it so we could take steps. No, I'm angry at the large number of Torontonians (and other Ontarians) who think that they're safe because whooping cough has been so rare for the last few decades. I'm angry at the people advising parents, erroneously, that vaccines are worse than the diseases they prevent. I'm angry at the family doctors and other health professionals who don't take enough measures to get their patients in for their well-baby visits, including shots. I'm angry at a provincial government that has known about this problem for several years and has yet to put a comprehensive, community-level vaccination program in effect. This is a public health issue, and our public health officials haven't done anything about it.
Any adults who read this who come in regular contact with my family are advised to ensure that their booster shots are up-to-date. You're supposed to have one every ten years to be fully protected; if it's been more than eight or you can't remember, get another. Whooping cough is usually not that serious for adults, or even older children; the risk is that the adults will transmit it to a newborn baby, who could die.
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The combination vaccine DPTP is very safe and can prevent serious health problems in very young infants, for whom passive immunity isn't conferred from the mother. An improved pertussis vaccine called DTaP, approved for use in children aged 15 months and older, is less likely to cause side affects (fever, localized pain) and and will probably soon replace the old DTP, even in infants.
That being said, as far as I know persons over the age of 6 are not routinely vaccinated against pertussis here in Canada. There have been suggestions in the US after an interesting report published in the NEJM to extend vaccination coverage, but this is still something under review.
::B::
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(thinks) It's been five years since my Tetanus, but honestly, I can't remember the last time I had any boosters refreshed.
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(Anonymous) 2007-11-05 08:44 pm (UTC)(link)no subject
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Which is a small inconvenience compared to stopping an infection vector.
Poor kidlet! Hope she's feeling better soon.
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And then, it hits me..
Well, less vulnerable anyhow. That said, it was five years ago: time for a renewal.
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I pray you don't get affected by it ...I thought it was evil and it's affected my coughing ever since.... a child who wasn't savvy ... doesn't bear thinking about.
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It took a lot of self control to work with my body with the type of coughing whooping cough is, deciding when to suppress the cough so it won't spiral, when to let it go to be productive, when it is better to be in a hot shower, when it is better to be in bed. To know that THIS coughing fit is going to end in the bathroom. To know how little to eat, how often. It would have been so easy to choke (more). I shudder to think about how someone weak, ignorant or incapable of self-action, determination or expression would survive it.
I hope the little girl's immunizations means she has a very mild time of it.
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I really can't stand all that mythology that goes around about vaccines causing autism and the like, though it's possible that some of the parents in the Toronto area who don't properly vaccinate their kids don't know any better because they didn't grow up in Canada. The worst thing is, people who are into the 'vaccines cause autism' idea will probably never believe any credible study that disproves their position, because the source is too 'official' to be unbiased *rolls eyes*. People just don't remember how many people died from vaccine-preventable diseases before vaccination was widespread.
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So, if keeping your head out of the toilet bowl for a week in the middle of winter is worth a day or two of a sore arm and the hassle of getting the shot, you can take your chances. If you have children, especially very small children; if you work with children or the elderly; or if you have relatives who are very young, very old, or very sick; then getting a flu shot yourself is a good way to limit the possibility of becoming a vector of infection for those people.
Because I'm a teacher, I'm getting a flu shot at some point soon. I'm not sure yet if I'll get the girls to get them. Elizabeth would require two doses, and Claire three, so I might not.
You may want to consider asking your doctor about an adult booster shot, to bolster the immunities you developed as a kid - or maybe get tested to see if you are immune to some of them.
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I think I'm going to pass on the flu shot. I don't often get sick in the winter, and if I do it's usually a cold that passes quickly. I'm also not a vector, really; the only kids I'm around at all are my nieces and nephews; that's not very often, and I'm smart enough to stay away from them if I'm sick. It's more of a risk that I'll get sick from them rather than they get sick from me.
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