"Whooping cough making a comeback?" Topic

I just had a rather disturbing meeting earlier today.

I ran into a gentleman I know whom I often see with his wife. I asked about her, and he told me that she was home recovering from a bout of whooping cough (pertussis). Immediately, I'm thinking "Whoa! Didn't we pretty much get a handle on this disease some time ago?!" and "I thought this was a disease that only babies and children could get?", as they're both in their mid-50s. He told me that she probably contracted it from a religious meeting they attended not too long ago, and that her ailment didn't last long.

Well, I get home to see what I can find out, and found the Center for Disease Control's (CDC) website about the present status of cases of pertussis:

link

So, anyone heard about this?

Ever since the easily aroused turned their attention to vaccines, ALL communicable diseases are on the rise.
I know that some will not want to hear this, since they are invested in finding scare ingredients that do not do what they fear they do.

It's a good thing that smallpox got wiped out before the anti-vaccine crowd got powerful.

Yep. It's the anti-vaccine crowd, blaming vaccines for any perceived "problem" in kids, primarily autism (because it couldn't possibly be genetic— that would make the parents feel bad).

Of course, a recent study also determined that the older the father, the greater the chance of autism in the offspring due to natural mutations in their sperm. Oops. So much for the vaccine "theory."
But don't look for the anti-vaccine Luddites to change their beliefs.

(It doesn't help, by the way, that "autism" actually covers an extremely broad spectrum of developmental and mental/social difficulties, AND is a relatively new realm of study, meaning that the "increase" in the number of autism cases reported may not be an example of an actual increase in percentages of children with these difficulties, but rather simply an increased likelihood of getting an "official" diagnosis (or even mis-diagnosis) due to heightened awareness of the spectrum among both physicians and parents. For example, the apparent high percentage of autism among Silicon Valley families could be due to the genetics of, well, nerds marrying nerds, or could be due to environmental conditions involving work or simply the region, or simply could be that these families have very high incomes and are more likely to seek out and spend money on physicians when in search of a diagnosis for their child as compared to lower income families in other regions who might not seek out any diagnosis at all.)

My Dr told me last week. That he has seen more sick (cold type sick) people in the last 2 months then any 2 months in the last 30 years. Summer not being the height of cold season he does not understand why.

Why do we accept "expert" testimony from a blonde Playboy Bunny of the Year who goes on Oprah to blame her child's autism on ….
Oh, heck. I already know the answer to that.

Speaking of Autism, another recent study shows clear brain activity pattern differences in autistic people vs non-autistics, so the Autism Spectrum may start shrinking as some of the maladies grouped into the Spectrum prove to be something else.

Here in Montana local Pertussis outbreaks have received wide attention in the last couple of years.

With that attention has come the tales from older folks about Whooping Cough outbreaks in the 1920s and 30s that ripped through isolated ranches during the winter. Scarier and more heartwrenching than any movie.

I suggest we start using the favorite weapon of the anti- vaccine crowd against them. Sue those who send their children to school without their shots.
However, if I still had school age children, I wouldn't send them to school on a bet. I'd home school mine. But they'd have their shots. As my two Sons did. And my dog and cat, by the way.

Really?

I had a completely different view of why its making a come back then anti-vaccine.

Since we've been in the middle east fighting all these wars (where its still a common thing). I assumed the soldiers were bringing it back. Those who are immune can still be carriers of a disease and once someone with a compromised immune system gets it then anyone can pick it up.

Cause we never heard much about these outbreaks until the Gulf War started.

I see your point. But if that's so why just recently? Why not after the first Gulf War?

troops stationed on the ground in country for longer periods then in the first one. Lots of those guys did multiple tours in both Iraq/Afghanistan. Meant more time to contract and carry different things.

I saw reports of this and other things like Mumps in regional break out in schools where they have had to close temporarily to stop the spread. It just finally getting handed around enough so that its not just in schools any longer.

Personally I think its more of a problem of people not staying home when there sick and spreading it around.

forgot to say I saw those reports starting 2 years after the war in Iraq started.

A lot of people don't have a clue about how bad diseases were a hundred or so years ago.

My son had Whooping Cough (even though he had been vaccinated) after exposure to some kids at church, whose parents didn't believe in vaccination. We don't go to church with them any longer, the crazy assess.

I just went through a bit of a scare with my 7 month old. He started coughing a lot. The pediatrician immediately put him on an anti-biotic. Thankfully, the test for it came back false.

The disease had been relatively under control until "concerned parents" got mislead about vaccines by irresponsible talk shows. Oprah was not alone in this.
The whole rationale behind mass vaccination is to keep the susceptible population at a statistical minimum where it "cannot" or "should not" spread.

Parzival has it right. No one wants to believe that autism is genetic, because that would make it their fault. Neither do they want to believe that it "just happens". It is much easier to blame it on the coincidence of having been vaccinatd.
I do not see how the coincidence of the Iraq Wars has anything to do with it. That's a BIG stretch. Occam's Razor should apply.

"Everyone" gets upset over "Science" being ignored when Creation Science is taught in schools. That is relatively harmless, and does not result in deaths. When sound rational vaccination protocols are ignored, then we have a problem.
Like I said earlier, it's a good thing smallpox has been erradicated, except for the "research stock" kept in labs. the Oprah crowd would have us … Well, you can figure it out.

Interestingly the subject came up a couple of weeks ago at work. Clerk was telling me how 'whooping cough' was making a come back in Alaska. Due to people not getting vaccinated.

As we are at a camp the discussion concerned whether someone might bring it in. Colds get spread rather quickly.

As to summer colds, I have had several. Usually they are nastier than the winter version. I, at least, find that the trigger is thermal shock. Being outside in high summer heat then coming inside to an overly chilled interior.

My wife is a ER nurse and she said they are seeing an increase in mumps and whooping cough. She said the doctors believe its from people not getting vaccinated. Yet they have seen cases of kids that were vaccinated getting it.

Now my neighbor believes its a modified strain released by the pharmceutical companies to increase sales. lol

Please have your neighbor spaded or neutered for the good of the rest of us.

I suspect the reality is a combination of both a drop in vaccinations and the extensive new exposure to a long unvaccinated and largely isolated populace in the East.