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Whooping cough threaten U.S and Europe
14/Sep/2006: A highly contagious respiratory disease, ‘Pertussis’ commonly known as the whooping cough has made a comeback in Europe and United States, with many new cases reported in recent years.
Whooping cough is caused by a bacteria belonging to the genus Bordetella and is spread by airborne discharges from the mucous membrane of infected people. This disease is believed to occur mainly in developing countries but the recent incidence of occurrence among teenagers and adults in developed countries, contradicts this belief.
The number of whooping cough infections in U.S rose from 1,000 in 1976 to 19,000 in 2004 and with the disease reemerging in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia causing serious public health concerns in these regions. Pertussis poses a greater risk to infants as they are more vulnerable and can easily contract the disease from infected adults. Re-vaccinating teenagers and adults against this disease and proper diagnosis of the disease by health professionals, is essential to prevent infections in infants, as pertussis is more fatal in infants.
Many people and health professionals perceive that this disease has been eradicated in the developed nations through immunization programs, but vaccinations given in childhood wanes within a decade leaving teenagers and adults susceptible to infections. Since the symptoms of this disease are common with that of asthma and other respiratory conditions, it is often misdiagnosed by many health professionals. A study published in the science journal ‘New England Journal of Medicine’ estimates that there could be more than million cases of whooping cough among adults in U.S every year and since a large number of these cases are misdiagnosed, the disease remain largely underreported.
Whooping cough kills an estimated 300,000 people each year, mostly in developing and in poor countries. Fatalities in developed nations reduced after the development of a vaccine for this disease in the 1940’s, with the incidence of occurrence falling by over 80% after immunization of infants against this disease begun.
Kesavan Siva
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