D.B.
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Hey Mamas,
Maybe someone can explain this to me... My 4 yo daughter has been exposed to a confirmed case of pertussis (whooping cough) in her class. I found this out this morning. She developed a slight cough this past weekend; this morning, the cough was back and a few sounded were 'barky'. Long story short, I took her to the pediatrician and she's being tested; she has slight crackling in her lungs, whisper voice, light cough. She probably has it, especially since she was exposed to a confirmed case of it (although it could be croup or allergies). Protocol is that she start steroids & antibiotics now... (Yes, I know. Pertussis is serious. If her test is positive, my husband & I have to take the antibiotics also.)
She is current with all her immunizations. She got the last round about 6 months ago; all vaccinations were given whenever they are suppose to; we don't do the "delayed schedule". Why would she contract pertussis? Isn't the DTP shot suppose to guard against this?
(By the way: Big thank you to all the mothers who do tell their daycare/schools when their child has contracted a certain illness so that other moms can find out what their child's symptoms might indicate!)
Thank you for the explanations! It takes 4 days for the test to know if she does have it; she has to take 5 days of antibiotics before she can go to school! So, by the time we know, she'll almost be done with the treatment. If I had thought about it a while more, I probably would've figured my question out... I mean, I knew viruses mutated each season but since pertussis is a bacterial infection, that threw me off (bacteria does not mutate every season). I have since found out two things: 1) the county has had a pertussis outbreak since October 2009; and 2) according to some websites, there are 2 types of bacteria that can cause pertussis--one type is targeted by the vaccine while the other type is not. Not sure if that plays into why we're having an outbreak of a vaccinated disease, but I still believe in immunizations. The good news is that I haven't delivered our 2nd baby yet--that would have been horrible to have this infect the house with a newborn here! The bad news is I have 3 or 4 weeks to clean and disinfect this germ out of here... Oy! I'm realizing how much laundry and throwing out crayons, coloring books, bath toys, (everything she played with this weekend that can't be sanitized) that now awaits me! Guess I'll be buying more bleach tomorrow!
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Like the other moms said, the Pertussis vaccine isn't foolproof. (Which is why it's so critical for everyone to get vaccinated - less chance for those for whom the vaccine doesn't work to become ill.) Your daughter's case probably won't be quite as bad as it could have been had she not been vaccinated though.
So sorry you are experiencing this. It always sucks when something doesn't work the way we expect!
I did a quick search and found a JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) study that indicates that pertussis vaccine is 80% effective after 4 doses...up from 44% after a single dose in preschool children.
A couple of years ago there was a pertussis outbreak in my daughters' school, so I learned a great deal about it. Pertussis is the most virulant vaccine-preventable disease, so even if you have all your shots up to date, it can still be transmitted, but usually a milder case. There is a strong push right now for all teens and adults under the age of 65 to get boosters, because they are finding the immunity wears off and in order to keep the disease at bay, the community needs strong "herd immunity." If you and your husband haven't gotten boosters, I would highly recommend it. I hope this helps...
Vaccines do not prevent you from catching a disease. It will boost your immunity. Think of it like this: Your white blood cells are like soldiers fighting any foreign bacterias and virus that enter your body. But, before they can fight it, they have to exam it and make sure it is an enemy. If they decide it is, they attack, if not they leave the bacteria or virus alone (and they do not forget). When your daughter got her vaccine-she got a small dose of pertussis. This was enough for her white blood cells to see that a "stranger" is in her body and exam it. Therefore, when she was exposed to pertussis at school---her white blood cells did not have to waste precious time determining if it is an enemy or friend. They immediately started attacking, which is helping her symptoms be less severe. Depending on how many children are not vaccinated in her school could also have an effect. The less children that are vaccinated, you loose "herd" immunity and this increases your chance of getting sick, even if you are vaccinated. I can go on and on, but this message is already too long :) Let me know if you have any other questions l
Well- immunizations do not work with myself or my kids. Little known secret that they do not work in everyone. So, our pedi's protocol is to build up our own immunities. Therefore, we do not give our kids immunizations anymore. My daughter almost died at 8-9 months old because of something she should have been immune to. This is how we discovered this. Good luck. I hope she gets better soon. :)
That's the thing with shots...they're 'supposed' to give you an immunity to certain things...but like with the flu shot, getting it doesn't mean that you won't get the flu that year if you receive the shot. It says that your risk is 50% less of getting some strains (good if you are not able to fight off viruses like a normal person's immune system) but a waste of money if you can.
vaccines don't neccesarily keep children from contracting disease/infection in most cases it doesnt give them a full blown case of it. Good luck with your baby, Pertussis is getting bad and spreading. I've seen many commercials for it recently aswell.
Yes the vaccines are not 100%. On the flip side of this my son was assigned the seat next to a girl who had pertussis last year in school and never came down with it. He isn't vaccinated since he had a horrible reaction to the vaccine. I think it is a huge disservice and a false sense of security to lead people to believe vaccines guard you 100%.
Dear Karen,
Most people who get pertussis have been fully vaccinated. The efficacy of this vaccine is highly questionable. It looks like you have been given a reason to research vaccines more fully. Don't just blindly follow the gods of the science lab. Study, research and then determine if they are worth all the risks to inject the poison into your child.
