Whooping cough is highly contagious and can be spread through airborne droplets. Unvaccinated children are at risk of contracting the disease, which can lead to serious complications such as pneumonia and seizures. Some parents refuse to vaccinate their children due to unfounded concerns about autism, but this puts others at risk. If you suspect your child has whooping cough, see a doctor immediately.
Whooping cough is caused by inhaling the airborne droplets of someone infected with whooping cough. A person with whooping cough who coughs or sneezes around an unvaccinated person can spread the disease easily. Whooping cough is a virus once nearly eradicated in the United States after vaccinations became a standard part of testing healthy children.
Recently, however, it has made a comeback to some extent as some parents refuse to have their children vaccinated for the disease. Additionally, those who come to the United States illegally may not have received any vaccinations and could bring the disease into the country, exposing those with weak immune systems or who have not been vaccinated.
The population most at risk in the United States are children who have not completed their immunizations. Whooping cough is highly contagious, and unvaccinated infants and children have a 90% chance of contracting the disease if they are in contact with other sick children or if they live in a home where someone gets sick.
Complications in children who have whooping cough can be particularly serious. They include pneumonia, seizures, encephalitis, bleeding in the eyes, and possibly death. With such risks, many wonder why some parents choose not to vaccinate their children.
Some children cannot be vaccinated due to previous life-threatening reactions to vaccinations. In some cases, parents believe that vaccinations may be indicated in the development of autism. The medical community in Europe and the United States has found that there is no medical evidence to support this claim. The onset of autism tends to occur around the age of two, when children frequently receive their last booster injection, called DPT (diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus).
Many doctors and parents criticize some parents’ decision not to vaccinate their children, as children who contract diseases such as whooping cough are more prone to passing them on to people with compromised immune systems or to newborns. Vaccination advocates believe that parents who fail to vaccinate their children unnecessarily put others at risk, including the lives of children who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons. This is a very difficult and often debated issue by both parents and pediatricians.
If you suspect your child has developed whooping cough, it’s important to see a doctor right away. Especially in infants the disease can cause periods of apnea, or breath holding, instead of the cough associated with the disease. Also, be sure to let your pediatrician know that you suspect whooping cough as they may have protocols they need to follow to protect other children in their office from getting it.
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