pertussis

[jeliphish]

Can anyone send me some articles or medical journals detailing when pertussis is no longer a "dangerous" virus for your LO to contract. I am thinking it's something like 6 months old.

[jeliphish]

...and TIA

[13Sandals]

well, any article will state that pertussis deaths go down around age 6 months - to be fair though, 6 months is usually the end of the initial 3-series DTaP series.
here is one that goes into age distributions (and clearly states the short-duration of vax protection) http://www.idph.state.il.us/public/hb/hbpertus.htm

I am not aware of any studies specifically addressing breastfeeding and pertussis - though in other studies concerning bacterial illnesses like HiB - breastfeeding provides ample protection.

pertussis difficulty has everything to do with airway size - generally speaking, the bigger the size of the airway, the less difficulty during the time the body is trying to excrete the bacteria (and its byproducts)

maybe other moms have some good articles?

just remember, the vax only protects against the negative side-effects of the bacteria - not the actual bacteria...basically meaning,vaccinated individuals can spread pertussis just as easily as the vaccinated. pertussis is endemic and always has been irregardless of vaccine uptake. overall deaths have gone down over the years no thanks to the vaccine.

[nichole]

You might want to read Raising a Vaccine Free Child. She has some good info about pertussis. She says the big thing with infants under six months is that they can't sit up. In her opinion, it is vital that you let an infant sleep upright on your chest at night while they have whooping cough.

[Sileree]

From 1997-2000 there were 56 reported deaths in infants <6 months but only 4 total in children 6 months to 9 years.

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5104a1.htm

[MyLilPwny]

According to these stats here, it looks like there is a much better chance of surviving after 3 months of age:

Page 103 of Just A Little Prick by Hilary Butler says:

"...in the USA in 2004, 25,827 total cases [of pertussis] were reported. Of these cases, 2622 cases (10%) were in infants less than six months, 611 cases (2%) were in infants 6-11 months old, and 2562 cases (10%) were in children aged 1 ro 4 years. Twenty-seven deaths were also reported in 2004, twenty-four of which occurred in infants less than three months old."

Page 107 talks about how there are some older studies which show that colostrum and breast milk carry specific IgG and IgA antibodies to pertussis.

[bbrandonsmom]

I'm sorry this happened.