State warns whooping cough epidemic could be worst in 50 years

California’s top health official warned Wednesday the state is on pace to record the highest number of whooping cough cases in half a century.

“Whooping cough is now an epidemic in California,” said Dr. Mark Horton, director of the California Department of Public Health.

Reported cases of whooping cough, also known as pertussis, have quadrupled since last year, he said.

There have been 910 confirmed cases of the disease in California this year between Jan. 1 and June 15. That is four times as many cases as during the same period last year, when 219 cases were confirmed.

Another 600 possible cases of whooping cough are being investigated by local health departments, Horton said.

The illness can cause adults to experience severe spasms of coughing that if left untreated can continue for three or four months.

Infants are most vulnerable because infection can cause death. Five infants — all under 3 months old — have died from the disease this year, Horton said.

He called for children to be vaccinated against the disease and said parents and infant caregivers should get booster shots.

-- Kate Linthicum and Rong-Gong Lin II

Related: Facts about whooping cough

Woman shares her story of passing along whooping cough to her newborn son

Comments

[Donna]

How awful. This is exactly the thing public health officials and pediatricians have been fearing would happen since the myth of vaccine-caused autism became fixed in parents' minds. The Defeat Autism Now (DAN) people must be very proud of their handiwork.

[grandma cranky pants]

Why do I think this story is placed and designed to get us to take yet another FDA approved vaccine?

[Tirau]

This is what the ignorant propaganda against vaccination has wrought.

[NM]

I agree Tirau. Thanks to the completely unfounded fears of vacinnation, we are seeing huge resurgences in several diseases, which are most fatal to children. Way to look out for the kids, parents.

[Joey]

Thank you, Jenny McCarthy!

[JO]

"This is exactly the thing public health officials and pediatricians have been fearing would happen since the myth of vaccine-caused autism became fixed in parents' minds. The Defeat Autism Now (DAN) people must be very proud of their handiwork."

You cannot go from "quadrupled whooping cough cases" to "caused by irrational vaccination fears" without a grand leap of logic. Please, if I am ignorant, point me to any statement or data anywhere that links the increase of whooping cough cases in California to a decrease in adults receiving vaccinations as a direct result of the DAN/ARI speculation of a possible link between autism and vaccines.

The issue has been blown far out of proportion on both sides: those who are wary of the vaccination push do not do it blindly, and those who are pro-vaccination should not do it blindly, either. Certainly you can find extreme examples on both sides, but absent of that, the majority of people have a tempered view.

The real concern with vaccinations is not necessarily that each individual vaccination is capable of causing autism (and any statement to that effect is a gross misrepresentation of the position), but that the push for vaccination "cocktails", and specifically through the development years of childhood (from birth through the first few years of life) may have negative effects, or increased likelihood of complications. I think that to be a fairly tempered and logical suspicion.

Any extreme rhetoric from either side should be dispensed with immediately. Before accusing the "anti-vaccination" crowd of "ignorant propoganda", examine their documents and see that your side is not as well guilty of "ignorant propoganda" in misrepresenting the other side.

Cheers.

[Martygrrl]

Hey grandma cranky pants, My 2 yr old grandaughter has been suffering over a month with whooping cough, dismissed by 3 pediatricians because she had received her 1st 3 shots. Finally, family GP diagnosed and gave her the proper antibiotic. She still has a long road ahead because of the misdiagnosises. Google whooping cough and see a seizure to know what it is like for a 32 lb child to go through this. Get a booster Grandma because it's adults passing this along to the babies.