Protect Kids by Getting Whooping Cough Vaccine

Children who do not get the whooping cough vaccine are at a high risk of catching the highly contagious virus.

A study by Kaiser Permanente Colorado's Institute for Health Research has found that children who do not get the whooping cough vaccine are at a high risk of catching the highly contagious virus.

"The U.S. immunization program has been so successful at eliminating so many diseases that we no longer see them. So it's essentially become a victim of its own success," said Dr. Jason Glanz, an epidemiologist who worked on the study.

Hib Vaccine - Types, Dosage Schedule, Contraindications and Side Effects
The Hib vaccine protects children against infections like meningitis and pneumonia that are caused by the Haemophilus influenzae type b bacterium.

The study also found that just one in 500 kids who received the vaccine developed the disease, which is characterized by uncontrollable deep coughing.

Pertussis vaccine is administered in five doses between 2 months and 18 months of age in infants. Many US parents are worried about vaccine safety rather than the diseases, Dr Glanz said.

"I'm hoping that our study is an additional piece of information that doctors can use when conveying the risks and benefits," he added.

Respiratory Diseases - Diseases of the Human Respiratory System
Respiratory diseases affect any part of the respiratory system. Some of the lung diseases like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease can lead to respiratory failure.

The details of the study are published in the latest issue of the journal Pediatrics.

Poliomyelitis - About
Polio is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. It results in paralysis and generally affects people of all age groups, children being more susceptible

Source-Medindia
RAS

APGAR
This scoring system is used to identify babies at risk for complications or bad outcome from delivery during the early minutes of their life and determine if any medical intervention is needed immediately.