Latest Pertussis Stories

U.S. parents concerned with the potential side effects of childhood vaccinations may be responsible for outbreaks of largely eradicated diseases, doctors say. Doctors said in a new research study parental concerns regarding childhood vaccinations may be triggering outbreaks of diseases such as measles and whooping cough, The Wall Street Journal said Thursday. Dr. Saad Omer, lead author of the report, said parents should consider the community risks associated with avoiding childhood...

Physicians and nurses need to explain the risks of vaccine refusal while respectfully listening to parents' concerns, a special article in the May 7 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine urges.Lead author Saad B. Omer, MBBS, PhD, MPH, is assistant professor of global health and epidemiology at Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health, with coauthors from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the federal National Vaccine Program Office and the Washington State...

Infants who receive the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) following the combination vaccine for diphtheria, polio, tetanus, pertussis and Haemophilus influenzae type b (DPTaP-Hib vaccine) appear to experience less pain than those who are immunized in the opposite order, according to a report in the May issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, a theme issue on vaccines.Injections are the most painful common medical procedure conducted in childhood, according to background...

National Infant Immunization Week is April 25 - May 2 YORK, Pa., April 27 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- To kick off National Infant Immunization Week, Pennsylvania Health Secretary Everette James today stressed the need for all parents to fully immunize their children against preventable diseases. "We've recently seen an increase in vaccine preventable diseases such as whooping cough, meningitis and measles -- all of which can cause severe illness in children and can spread rapidly to...

Singer, actress and mother teams up with the March of Dimes and sanofi pasteur to launch national whooping cough education campaign WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. and SWIFTWATER, Pa., April 22 /PRNewswire/ -- While most parents can't wait to hear their baby's first babbles and coos, there's a first sound that actress, singer and mother Jennifer Lopez is betting no parents ever want to hear - the sound of their baby with pertussis, more commonly known as whooping cough. Ms. Lopez has joined the March...

U.S. film star and singer Jennifer Lopez, the mother of twins, wants parents and adults to get a pertussis, or whooping cough vaccine to protect infants. This issue is important to me. I didn't know too much about it before becoming a parent but whooping cough is on the rise. There have been a significant increase in reported cases over the past decade, Lopez told United Press International. Parents don't realize that they can get pertussis and transmit the disease to their babies....

National Foundation for Infectious Diseases Calls for Increased Immunization Rates among Adults; Launches Comprehensive Web site to Educate Public, Healthcare Providers BETHESDA, Md., April 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Fifty thousand American adults die every year from vaccine-preventable diseases. Hundreds of thousands more are hospitalized and miss work because of infections that could be prevented with vaccines. Yet, most Americans continue to think of vaccines as benefiting only children, not...

Whooping cough is on the rise in Japan, with 775 cases reported already this year, health officials said. The National Institute of Infectious Diseases said cases are up 30 percent from the same period last year, the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper reported Tuesday. Health officials say more cases are expected into early summer. A total of 6,749 cases were reported last year, more than double the 2,926 cases reported in 2007. The report said 1,358 contracted the disease in 2005. The increased...

Vaccine coverage rates reach 95% - rival many developed countries SEATTLE, March 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- VillageReach, the Seattle-based international organization that increases developing nations' access to healthcare, today announced significant improvements in vaccination rates for its heath system strengthening program in Mozambique. The results of the independent study show high rates of immunization that rival those of many developed countries. VillageReach was established...

- NBA All-Star Grant Hill and Three-Time WNBA MVP Lisa Leslie Urge Teens to Stay in the Game and Get Vaccinated - NEW YORK, Feb. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), in collaboration with the Society for Adolescent Medicine (SAM) and sanofi pasteur (the vaccines division of the sanofi-aventis Group), today announced the launch of Vaccines for Teens, a national multimedia campaign designed to educate teens and...