LOS ANGELES (AP)--California has not been a single death of whooping cough in 2011, the first year since 1991, that is there were no deaths in the State of the highly contagious disease, health officials said Tuesday.
The news comes after the State has experienced an outbreak of whooping cough in 2010 when the 9 000 have been infected. Too young to be fully immunized children are most vulnerable to the disease. Ten babies died after exposure of adults or older children.
Cases of pertussis, also known as pertussis, dropped to 3,000 last year, and authorities expected to see how this year is before declaring the epidemic to the course."Everything which seems to indicate we'll position in this direction," said epidemiologist State Dr. Gil Chavez.
Public health officials credited the decline of greater awareness, more rapid diagnosis and a new State law requiring that middle and high school students get a booster shot before starting school.At the peak of the epidemic, doctors have been encouraged to identify pertussis in the beginning, to send babies infected at the hospital and quickly treat those diagnosed.
"We worked very hard on that and I believe that it has been successful, said pediatrician Dr. James Cherry, of the University of California at Los Angeles."The California Department of Public Health has also given free vaccines to hospitals and broadcast public service announcements in English and Spanish.
"People rallies and got vaccinated and it makes a huge difference, Chavez has."Cases of pertussis tend to run in cycles, with a peak of all five years. It is a highly infectious bacterial disease which, in rare cases, can be fatal. Pertussis begins like a cold but leads to cough severe which may last for weeks.
A study in the journal Pediatrics 2009 revealed that the children to be vaccinated against whooping cough are 23 times more likely to get the disease than vaccinated children.Among vaccinees, authorities recommend a vaccine booster in children older and adolescents to protect themselves against vaccine to offshore.
___Online:
http://www.DHS.ca.gov/___
Follow coverage Alicia Chang at the http://www.twitter.com/SciWriAliciaAssociated Press
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