Whooping Cough News and Research

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Whooping Cough is a serious bacterial infection of the lungs and breathing tubes that spreads easily. Whooping cough begins like a cold, but develops into severe coughing and gasping for air. Long spells of coughing may cause vomiting, and broken blood vessels in the eyes and on the skin. Also called pertussis.

Whooping cough on the rise mandates continuation of vaccine drive

A sharp rise in the number of whooping cough (Pertussis) cases has prompted the New South Wales Government to extend a free vaccine program until at least the end of the year. The health authorities say it is extremely important for infants and older children to be vaccinated on time.

24 May 2011

NBA Cares, SAHM and Tulsa Shock guard partner for teen vaccine awareness campaign

Tulsa Shock guard Andrea Riley and Basketball Hall of Famer Bob Lanier teamed up with NBA Cares and the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine today to bring Vaccines for Teens to the Tulsa community.

5 May 2011

Longer looks: Autism researcher's legacy; methadone for prisoners

Andrew Wakefield has become one of the most reviled doctors of his generation, blamed directly and indirectly, depending on the accuser, for irresponsibly starting a panic with tragic repercussions: vaccination rates so low that childhood diseases once all but eradicated here —whooping cough and measles, among them — have re-emerged, endangering young lives. And yet here he was in Texas, post-career-apocalypse, calmly discussing his work, and a crowd of around 250 people showed up to listen.

29 Apr 2011

Ahead of Immunization Week, WHO calls for countries to come together to control measles outbreak in Europe

WHO is urging countries in Europe to join together to help control the measles outbreak that has grown to more than 6,500 cases in 33 countries and the potential for worsening outbreaks "in the days ahead as people travel during the Easter holidays," U.N. News Centre reports.

25 Apr 2011

Californians for Patient Care reminds parents about affordable infants' immunizations

In advance of National Infant Immunization Week, observed April 23-30, Californians for Patient Care reminds parents there are affordable immunizations available for their infants in their communities.

25 Apr 2011

Rite Aid reduces price of whooping cough vaccine for children in California

Parents in California can now get their children vaccinated against whooping cough at more than 500 Rite Aid pharmacies for the newly lowered price of $57.99. By July 1, when a new state law takes effect requiring proof of vaccination for all students entering grades 7 through 12, nearly all of the approximately 600 California Rite Aid locations will be able to vaccinate walk-in patients or by appointment.

22 Apr 2011

Merck and Sanofi Pasteur commence Phase III trial of pediatric hexavalent combination vaccine

Merck and Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of sanofi-aventis Group, announced today the initiation of a Phase III clinical program to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of an investigational pediatric hexavalent combination vaccine.

21 Apr 2011

Low vaccination rates across Australia

Vaccination rate figures show that older Australians are well protected against the flu but less so against pneumococcal disease and whooping cough. These figures were revealed by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) and they show three-quarters of Australians aged 65 years and older had a flu shot in 2009. Just over half (55 per cent) were also vaccinated against pneumococcal disease.

3 Mar 2011

Vaccine lawsuit rejected by Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday against the parents of Hannah Bruesewitz, 18, who suffered seizures and permanent brain damage after receiving a diptheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP) vaccine in 1993. The Bruesewitz family had sued Wyeth who was then the parent company of the maker of the DTP vaccine that Hannah received as an infant.

27 Feb 2011

HIV infection in mothers reduces disease resistance in babies: Study

New research suggests that babies whose mothers have HIV, but are not HIV-infected themselves, are born with lower levels of specific proteins in their blood called antibodies, which fight infection, compared with babies not exposed to HIV.

13 Feb 2011

HIV-negative babies born to HIV-positive mothers have lower antibody levels for some infections, study finds

"Babies who are exposed to HIV at birth but don't become infected with the virus have lower levels of antibodies to diseases such as whooping cough, tetanus and pneumococcus," according to a study published in the Feb. 9 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), HealthDay News/U.S. News & World Report.

10 Feb 2011

Bill Gates, crown prince of Abu Dhabi announce $100m pledge for vaccines for Afghan, Pakistani children

Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahayanm, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, "pledged $100 million Wednesday to deliver vaccines to children in Afghanistan and Pakistan," Reuters reports.

28 Jan 2011

Australians urged to vaccinate babies and care givers against whooping cough

The number of cases of the deadly whooping cough in the Hume region in Victoria, including Wodonga, last year increased fivefold from those diagnosed in 2008. A total 67 cases were reported in Albury last year but across the Greater Southern region there were more than 1,000 cases. The outbreak reached its peak in September. In the last three years 1,416 West Australians contracted the disease, three of whom died.

18 Jan 2011

Herpes zoster vaccine reduces risk of developing shingles by 55%

Receiving the herpes zoster vaccine was associated with a 55 percent reduced risk of developing shingles, according to a Kaiser Permanente study of 300,000 people that appears in the current issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

12 Jan 2011

Pruritic nodules and aluminium allergy arise after vaccinations or treatments for allergies

Allergic contact dermatitis from aluminium has previously been considered very unusual. However, there are now reports of pruritic nodules and aluminium allergy arising after vaccinations or treatments for allergies.

14 Dec 2010

New theory explains spread of infectious diseases

New research using human-networking theory may give a clearer picture of just how, exactly, infectious diseases such as the common cold, influenza, whooping cough and SARS can spread through a closed group of people, and even through populations at large.

14 Dec 2010

Whooping cough on the move

The Sequoyah County has seen an increase of whooping cough cases this year while the state of Oklahoma has seen a decrease in cases according to health officials. Health officials in DuPage County also say there has been increase in whooping cough cases in recent weeks.

2 Dec 2010

Whooping cough outbreak in Oklahoma

Oklahoma is witnessing an outbreak of whooping cough with more people falling ill. Health authorities are urging all people over 7 years of age to get vaccinated against the disease.

28 Nov 2010

CDC data: Adults remain unvaccinated against preventable infectious illnesses

New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that adults remain largely unvaccinated against preventable infectious illnesses.

18 Nov 2010

New findings reveal complexities in close chemical combat waged among bacteria

Like all organisms, bacteria must compete for resources to survive, even if it means a fight to the death. New research led by scientists from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine and the University of California, Santa Barbara, describes new complexities in the close chemical combat waged among bacteria.

18 Nov 2010