Whooping cough outbreak

Pediatrician Lawrence Ross, MD Infectious Disease, shares advice for parents on the best way to help prevent your infant or young child from catching whooping cough
How To Prevent Whooping Cough Outbreak In Young Children
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Whooping cough outbreak

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The reason there has been an outbreak of whooping cough is that whooping cough immunity is not life long. For example, if you, unfortunately had whooping cough yourself, years later you are fully at risk and you can get it again. It's the same with the vaccines that we have available. They work very well. They are not perfect in any means, but they will work for a number of years then the immunity diminishes and you can get whooping cough. The real danger of whooping cough to adults or teens, certainly they can get sick and feel terrible from this, but then they spread it to babies. Lasts year in California, we had ten infants under the age of three months who died from whooping cough. Where did they get whooping cough? They get it from family members, or relatives in that same household. This has been the challenge to prevent it in young children. The prevention is to try and prevent it from those around them by immunizing all household members, all teenagers in the community, immunizing to adults who are 60-65, especially if they are going to be around young children.

Pediatrician Lawrence Ross, MD Infectious Disease, shares advice for parents on the best way to help prevent your infant or young child from catching whooping cough

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Lawrence Ross, MD

Pediatrician, Infectious Disease, Children's Hospital Los Angeles

Dr. Lawrence A. Ross is a pediatrician and expert in infectious diseases.  He has been a full-time member of the Division of Infectious Disease at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles since 1978 and has served as Hospital Infection Control Officer as well as the Chairperson of the Infection Control Committee for 20 years.  He is also a Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California.  Dr. Ross graduated from the University of Illinois and subsequently attended medical school at the Chicago Medical School in Chicago. He completed residency training in Pediatrics at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, followed by fellowships in Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and the Los Angeles County/University of Southern California School of Medicine. From 1981-1985, Dr. Ross served as the coordinator of the intern and residency program at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. His areas of interest have included epidemiology of nosocomial infections as well as clinical aspects of care for patients with immune compromising diseases including patients with HIV infection. 

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Transcription: 
The reason there has been an outbreak of whooping cough is that whooping cough immunity is not life long. For example, if you, unfortunately had whooping cough yourself, years later you are fully at risk and you can get it again. It's the same with the vaccines that we have available. They work very well. They are not perfect in any means, but they will work for a number of years then the immunity diminishes and you can get whooping cough. The real danger of whooping cough to adults or teens, certainly they can get sick and feel terrible from this, but then they spread it to babies. Lasts year in California, we had ten infants under the age of three months who died from whooping cough. Where did they get whooping cough? They get it from family members, or relatives in that same household. This has been the challenge to prevent it in young children. The prevention is to try and prevent it from those around them by immunizing all household members, all teenagers in the community, immunizing to adults who are 60-65, especially if they are going to be around young children.