Yet another Pertussis Question

[tiffer23]

This is one I just can't feel good about either way. I don't want him to get the vaccine, but more than that I don't want him to get the whooping cough. *sigh*

I REALLY don't want long lectures on why I shouldn't give him the vaccine. At the moment I'm not, and wouldn't for a good long time still if I did decide to eventually.

What I'm really needing to know is this... the death rate of those who get WC, broken down (if possible) by those who are vaccinated and unvaccinated.

From what I've researched the rates are very similar between those who are vaxed and not vaxed as far as getting WC. But I'm curious, if the vaccine might lessen the severity of the disease?

Death rates of those who get whooping cough and then the death rates related to the Pertussis vaccine would be awesome too. I guess, what? The DTaP? That's what they'd get here.

I don't have a lot of time to research at the moment, so links with quick factual statistics would be great.

[LongIsland]

According to the CDC, during 1994-2003 in children under age 2 years, 92% of hospitalizations occurred in infants under 6 months of age.

Regardless of whether children under the age of six months are not fully vaccinated, they are INFANTS. That in and of itself is the reason why the risk of hospitalization (and death) is higher among this age group.

For example, a fever which may resolve itself in say a toddler, can kill an infant. The list of illnesses for which no vaccine exists that can kill infants under the age of six months does not begin and end with pertussis.

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/pub.../pertussis.htm

[alegna]

My understanding is that the death rate for WC in people over 6 months is INCREDIBLY low. Possible that they don't even have stats on it.

-Angela

[joy2bmom]

Several "Vaxed" children in my area have gotten WC Thats all the info i can provide, sorry. I'm also VERY concerned about my dd getting WC, but from my understanding its a scary illness but not usually fatal, i'm sure other mamas here will provide better info on this, Good luck

[tiffer23]

Thanks so much for the information so far! These are the exact things I was looking for! Keep them coming! I'm looking too still.

[mamakay]

There are only about 20 deaths a year from WC, in a population of 300 million people, so any pattern that might turn up won't tell you much either way...

[Plummeting]

Supposedly, the mortality rate for infants under 6 months is 0.5% - 1 out of every 200 infected. I don't believe it for a minute, because I think doctors fail to dx pertussis all the time. All those babies walking around (well, being carried around, lol) undiagnosed aren't dying and they aren't being included when the mortality rate is figured, either. That means the mortality rate is probaly a LOT lower than that. My DD got it just past 5.5 months and the doc didn't diagnose. Long story that has to do with DD's history of reflux, but the doc just said it was nothing and that she was probably choking or something. More long story, but it took me a long time to even figure out what happened. I'd gone in asking specifically about pertussis, because it sounded like the audio clips online, but the doc said she was too healthy to have pertussis, blah, blah, blah, and because I'd been in a panic over it, I just believed her. I figured pertussis was a deadly disease and this sometimes alarming, but never close to deadly cough couldn't possibly be it. And it happens all the time. So who knows what the real mortality rate is???