![]() Read a personal story about pertussis» Why is pertussis sometimes called the “100-day cough?” Paul Offit and Anjuli Gans from CHOP talk about the symptoms of pertussis and its lingering effects, how adults can spread the infection to infants, how to protect newborns from whooping cough, and more. For example, over the last several years, an average of about 17,500 cases of pertussis have been reported annually to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but these likely represent only the tip of the iceberg of what is occurring in the community. Because pertussis is often misdiagnosed and underdiagnosed, people do not always realize how common it is. Pertussis is unusual in that most children catch the disease from adults and not from other children. Young infants can also experience bouts of apnea in which they briefly stop breathing. The cough can be so violent that people with pertussis can crack ribs, break blood vessels, or develop hernias. The cough is often so hard and so persistent that children can't catch their breath and make a "whooping" sound when they attempt to breathe in against a windpipe severely narrowed by mucus. Caused by a bacterium ( Bordetella pertussis), whooping cough makes children cough uncontrollably. Pertussis (also known as whooping cough) is one of the most contagious diseases around. Efforts to eliminate infant deaths from tetanus are making progress, but work remains to be done. Infections in newborns result from poor sanitation either during or after delivery. In developed countries, tetanus is typically thought of as infecting wounds in adults who have injured themselves however, in the developing world many infants suffer from neonatal tetanus. Further, people cannot be protected from this disease because everyone around them has had a vaccine that is, there is no protection from herd immunity. The tetanus toxin can also damage the heart.īecause of its presence in the environment and the noninfectious nature of this disease, eradication will not be possible through vaccination. If these spasms affect the throat and jaw (lockjaw), they can interfere with breathing, causing suffocation. Once under the skin, the bacteria make a toxin that causes muscle spasms. Hand washing and bathing do little once the bacteria actually get under the skin. Given the playful, adventurous, and oftentimes injury-prone nature of children, it's important to immunize them against tetanus. Items likely to be contaminated with the tetanus bacteria include nails or pieces of glass that were lying on the ground. ![]() The bacteria live in the soil and usually enter the body following punctures or wounds that are not kept clean or include damaged tissues such as from burns, frostbite, or gangrene. ![]() Unlike most vaccine-preventable diseases, tetanus is not a disease that you catch from someone else. ![]() Tetanus is another disease caused by a toxin-releasing bacterium, Clostridium tetani. Outbreaks still occur around the world and typically coincide with a drop in immunization rates. The diphtheria vaccine, first used in the United States in the early 1940s, has virtually eliminated the disease. At its peak, about 150,000 cases of diphtheria occurred in the United States every year. In the 1920s, diphtheria was a common cause of death in children and adolescents. The toxin makes it difficult for children to breathe and swallow, but it also attacks the heart, kidneys and nerves. The dangers associated with diphtheria come from the toxin released by the bacterium, Corynebacterium diphtheriae. ![]()
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