By Daniel Weintraub
California’s Department of Public Health stepped up its warning about the spread of whooping cough today, urging more state residents to get the vaccine to protect against the disease known as pertussis.
The department is now recommending that anyone seven years or older who is not fully immunized get a an adolescent-adult booster vaccine. The vaccine is also recommended for women of childbearing age before, during or after pregnancy, and other people who have contact with pregnant women and infants.
“We are facing what could be the worst year for pertussis that this state has seen in more than 50 years,” said Gilberto Chavez, chief of the department’s Center for Infectious Disease and the state’s epidemiologist. “We are urging health providers to broaden their use of the pertussis vaccine and we are urging Californians to take the simple step of getting vaccinated to prevent pertussis.”
State officials say pertussis is now an epidemic in California. Through July 13, 1,496 cases of pertussis were reported, a nearly 500 percent increase from the same period last year, when 304 cases were reported.
Five infants, all under three months of age, have died from pertussis this year. Unimmunized or incompletely immunized young infants are particularly vulnerable.
To see the department’s announcement, click here.
To see other resources about the disease, go here.
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