Speculated to be the largest in more than 5 decades whooping cough outbreak in California has the health officials gearing up for action. 6 deaths of infants under the age of 3 months have been reported and now the health officials in California are proposing booster shots to the whole state. Parents, health care workers and any of those who may be in contact with infants are of prime importance.

Approximately 1500 cases of whooping cough came into light and the medical practitioners are investing other 700 cases that may have the same possibility. There is also a possibility of many more cases with the infection but going unreported or undiagnosed. The average number of cases reported each during this time of each year is 300. This 5 times increase is of major concern.

The chief of California Department of Public Health’s Center for Infectious Disease, Gilberto Chavez issued a statement that the outbreak has the possibility of turning huge but not beyond the point where it cannot be contained.

Protecting the babies is important as they lack natural immunity to pertussis or whooping cough. It can even prove fatal to the babies. Though infants are administered the first shot of vaccination when 6 weeks old, the full protection is noticed only after the third shot which is not before 6 months. According to the reports of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 70% of infants are hospitalized due to whooping cough before they attain an age of 1 year.

The only possible way to protect the infants is to vaccinate everyone they come in contact with especially their families. In view of that the health department in California is taking care that all community health centers, birthing hospitals and local health departments administer whooping cough boosters not only to new mothers but also other close family members who come in contact with babies.

Source:

USA Today