By: Daily Mail Reporter
21 October 2010
Health officials say a 6-week-old baby in San Diego county was the latest victim in this year’s epidemic – the worst in 55 years.
The previous record was set in 1955 when there were 4,949 reported cases.
Health officials say that all of the babies who have died were too young to be fully immunised against the disease.
Infants and newborns under the age of two months cannot be vaccinated so they rely on adults to have their vaccination to protect them in what is called the cocoon effect.
Dr. Jennifer Ashton today told CBS News that early vaccination is key in protecting the younger members of families.
‘It’s normally given at about two months. Anyone with contact with a newborn, whether that’s a sibling, a grandparent, a health care worker, day care worker should be re-vaccinated.
‘The vaccines you and I got really only cover us for five years. Again, if you or I get sick, not a big deal. If we pass it to a newborn, it could be deadly’.
The illness which is also known as pertussis is currently a major concern in California but is also affecting many sufferers in the rest of America.
(Note from SaneVax: Not many people are aware of the fact that pertussis, whooping cough, is bacterial pneumonia. There are several different types of bacteria (and viruses for that matter) that cause pneumonia. The first line of this article says it all: “…confirmed or probable cases.” Before everyone begins a panic over a ‘pertussis epidemic,’ one should make certain that all cases reported as pertussis are confirmed. Otherwise, there is no way to tell whether mass adult vaccination with pertussis vaccine will do anything to stem the tide of the current cases of pneumonia.)
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