DSHS wages whooping cough campaign

The number of cases of pertussis, a bacterial illness also known as whooping cough, has steadily increased in Texas over the years, rising from 36 recorded cases in 1976 to 2,000 last year. In response, the Texas Department of State Health Services has begun a pertussis education campaign that informs at-risk groups of new vaccinations and the importance of children completing each stage of the vaccine series.

Eight of the nine pertussis deaths in Texas last year were infants, a group especially vulnerable since some are too young to be vaccinated. Other groups at risk include older children, teens and adults whose sensitivity to certain vaccines has decreased, according to a DSHS press release.

Initial pertussis symptoms resemble those of a common cold, including runny nose, sneezing, slight fever and a cough. The cough, which ends in a high-pitched “whoop,” develops into more severe coughing fits and spells that last more than six weeks.

“The good news is we now have vaccines designed to protect people in the 10 to 64 age range,” DSHS Commissioner Eduardo Sanchez, M.D., said in the press release. “These new vaccines coupled with on-time immunizations for children are major public health tools that can help prevent serious disease and death.”

DSHS recommends that the five doses of DTaP, a combined diphtheria, tetanus and acellular pertussis vaccine, be given to children ages 2 months, 4 months, 6 months, between 15 and 18 months and between 4 and 6 years old. Tdap, a new tetanus, diphtheria and acellular pertussis vaccine, should be given to children ages 11 to 12 to replace the tetanus/diphtheria vaccine normally received. Adults can receive the Tdap booster five years after the previous tetanus/diphtheria booster and pregnant women who have not previously received Tdap should receive the vaccine after childbirth and before leaving the hospital.

More information for health care providers, including fact sheets, posters, brochures, and test and treatment information, can be found on the Immunization Branch section of the DSHS Web site.