Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Whooping cough is endemic, but seems to be increasing; looking at the vaccine role

Pertussis (whooping cough) cases are occasionally vaccine-resistant.

Sometimes what looks like pertussis is a related disease, parapertussis, and the pertussis vaccine is useless at preventing this infection.  In fact, the vaccine may actually enhance nasal carriage with parapertussis strains.

Usually, vaccine-induced protection is weak and doesn't last long.

Clearly a new vaccine that is safe and much more effective is sorely needed, for both conditions perhaps, but certainly for Bordetella pertussis (the bacteria that cause whooping cough).  Instead we are likely to be told to keep getting more frequent doses of the clunker vaccine.

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