pertussis

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2017 Recommended Immunization Schedule and 2015 Adult Immunization Coverage Data

By | March 15th, 2017|Preparedness|

Proper immunization throughout the lifespan is one of the most important steps that individuals can take to protect their health, their children’s health, and the health of the community. Each year, a group of health and medical experts called the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices creates recommended vaccination schedules for children and adolescents as well [...]

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Selected 2015 Infectious Disease Stats

By | February 1st, 2016|Preparedness|

This is the time of year when we start closing out all of our infectious disease data from the previous year. That means our epidemiology and data entry staff will be hard at work to identify potential duplicate cases, make sure reported disease cases are classified correctly and similarly between the state and local health [...]

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Pertussis Exemptions Study

By | October 15th, 2013|Prevention|

A study came out in Pediatrics last week that looked at how vaccine exemptions were related to a statewide outbreak of pertussis (also known as whooping cough) in California in 2010. As you might expect, the authors found that there were more whooping cough cases in areas with higher rates of vaccine exemptions.  These findings were [...]

The “Arizona Strip” Whooping Cough Cluster

By | July 29th, 2013|Preparedness, Prevention|

Whooping cough, also known as pertussis, has been increasing in Arizona and the rest of the nation for the last few years. Pertussis usually runs in a cycle, peaking every 3-5 years and then decreasing again.  Symptoms include fits of cough, vomiting after the fits of cough, and a whooping sound during cough. Some complications include pneumonia, [...]

Whooping Cough Booster & Pregnancy

By | April 4th, 2013|Prevention|

Whooping cough (pertussis) is a growing problem in the US and Arizona.  There were 41,880 cases and 14 infant deaths from pertussis in the US last year…  which is the largest number of cases since the vaccine became available in the 50s.  In Arizona there were 988 cases in 2012 and there’s a pretty substantial outbreak going on right [...]

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Campaign to Get Health Care Workers Immunized

By | March 18th, 2013|General, Prevention|

Believe it or not only 27% of health care workers are up to date with their whooping cough booster… yet health care personnel can be infected with it by their patients, and then pass it on to other patients, family, and the community.  The Arizona Partnership Against Pertussis, a coalition of seventeen health care organizations [...]

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A New Kind of Whooping Cough?

By | March 28th, 2012|Preparedness, Prevention|

  A team of Aussie scientists  from the U of New South Wales believe that a new kind of Whooping Cough bacteria (Bordetella pertussis) has slipped past the protective effects from the current “acellular” vaccine- contributing to an increase in cases being found Down Under.  Their study was published this week in the latest The Journal of Infectious [...]

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Whooping it Up

By | August 30th, 2011|General|

When it comes to microbes- the whooping cough (pertussis) is a contrarian.  Unlike most other pathogens- it does better in the summer than the winter.  While most other infectious diseases are on the wane right now- whooping cough is whooping it up.  We’ve been seeing an increase in whooping cough cases in Arizona this summer- [...]

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National Infant Immunization Week

By | April 23rd, 2011|Preparedness|

Immunizations have been the most effective public health intervention of all time (followed by proper sewage treatment and garbage disposal).  We celebrate our successes and sharpen our focus on doing an even better job executing this important intervention every year during National Infant Immunization Week-  which is next week.  Our overall objective is to encourage [...]

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Whooping Cough (aka Pertussis)

By | July 2nd, 2010|Prevention|

Whooping cough (pertussis) is a vaccine preventable disease that causes a severe and chronic cough.  It’s a nuisance for adults and adolescents, but it’s potentially lethal for infants.  California is having a serious outbreak right now with 4 times the normal number of cases this year.  Our numbers are up too, but nothing like in [...]