Pertussis - The Whooping Cough

The Whooping cough is caused by a species of bacteria - Bordetella pertussis - and tends to come in short bursts followed by desperate gasps for air which makes a whooping noise. Infants are at the highest risk of complications which may even result in death. It can be recognised by symptoms similar to that of the common cold which may develop into pneumonia. The government is currently considering giving newborn babies vaccines against the whooping cough following a dramatic increase in its incidence this year. The number of cases so far this year has tripled in comparison to the whole twelve months of last year. In the United Kingdom, vaccines are currently offered to babies who are either two, three of four months of age. The cough is so dangerous due to the fact that babies do not yield the benefits from vaccination until they are four months of age. The plan is to increase the number of vaccines in order to combat the whooping cough, however, there is substantial opposition to such plans. Highly publicised cases of brain damage has swayed some public opinion against immunization and epidemics have since recurred. Despite the whooping cough being a potentially lethal disease that should be controlled, the safety of the vaccine is being called into question especially due to the plan to use it on such a large scale on previously healthy children. Would you want your child to suffer brain damage? It is concluded by scientists that the dangers of this potentially lethal disease far outweighs any known side effects and that any previous side effects may have resulted from less purified vaccines used in the past. The decision which must be made is the readiness of parents and doctors to recognise that the unavoidable risk carried by the vaccine is a necessary risk and has to be weighed against the risk of non-intervention against a disease which infects 90% of people which are exposed to it.