In the last 20 years, the number of cases of whooping cough increased overall in the US according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Whooping cough, or pertussis, is caused by infection with the Bordetella pertussis bacterium. Symptoms of whooping cough include having a cough lasting 14 or more days accompanied by a gasping sound or "whoop" while coughing. Children may also vomit or have difficulty breathing during a coughing spell.
The number of pertussis cases has remained stable among children old enough to be vaccinated, but the increase in cases in children younger than 6 months indicates that "a true increase in pertussis circulation" has occurred.
From 1997 to 2000, over 7,000 pertussis cases among all age groups were reported each year in the US, compared with about 2,000 cases per year in the early 1980s.
Pertussis remains an endemic disease. Adolescents and adults likely play an important role in transmitting pertussis to very young infants.
Among the 29,000 persons with pertussis from 1997 to 2000 for whom ages were known, 29% were aged less than 1 year, 12% were aged 1 to 4 years, 10% were aged 5 to 9 years, 29% were aged 10 to 19 and 20% were 20 years or older.
Additional data collected by the National Health Interview Survey in 1998 suggest that 73% of children aged 7 to 18 months were vaccinated with three or more doses of acellular pertussis (DTaP), diphtheria and tetanus toxoids (DTP), or diphtheria tetanus toxoids (DT) vaccines.
Vaccine effectiveness was estimated at 88% in children aged 7 to 18 months, with approximately two thirds of the vaccinations being DTaP and one third being DTP.
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report February 1, 2002;51:73-76
Undoubtedly the immunization "experts" will want to use this data to move the vaccine administration time even earlier. This is despite the fact that less than one-third of the infections were in children under one year old.
Let's just hope and pray that they don't get away with it. The likely reason for the increase in the disease is merely an artifact of the incredible unhealthy lifestyles most children are exposed to.
It doesn't take that long before many years of high sugar intake and the lack of vegetables to devastate the immune system.
I am reminded of the researchers 50 years ago who sought to give polio to rabbits. They could not get the rabbits infected with polio until they gave them sugar.
So, the key here is to optimize the eating plan. If you have a child that is currently eating baby food, you will want to seriously consider my new juicer recommendations which can actually make healthy baby food from your table food.
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