Almost 20% of Fully Vaccinated Children with Persistent Cough "Have
Whooping Cough"
July 08, 2014
Story at-a-glance
Twenty percent of UK children with persistent cough were
diagnosed with whooping cough, including 18 percent who were
fully vaccinated against it
In the US, one out of 132 whooping-cough patients, 81
percent were fully up to date on the whooping cough vaccine
Whooping cough is a cyclical disease and natural increases
tend to occur every 4-5 years no matter how high the
vaccination rates are in a population.
Pertussis (DTaP/Tdap) vaccines used in the U.S. and many
countries lose much of its effectiveness after just three
years, which is much faster than previously believed
The Tdap booster shot, recommended for older children and
adults, is only 53 percent to 64 percent effective, which
the researchers described as only “moderately” effective
By Dr. Mercola
In the US, from January 1 to June 16, 2014, there have been
nearly 10,000 cases of pertussis, or whooping cough, confirmed
by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This
is a 24 percent increase compared to the same time period in
2013.1
The CDC maintains that the best way to prevent pertussis is to
get vaccinated, but this deserves a closer look.
CDC data shows 84 percent of children under the age of 3 have
received at least FOUR DTaP shots and yet, despite this high
vaccination rate, whooping cough still keeps circulating among
both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals.
The vaccine is clearly ineffective, and it's not just failing
to prevent whooping cough in the US. In the UK, researchers
similarly revealed that nearly 20 percent of fully vaccinated
children still contracted whooping cough.
Nearly One-Fifth of Vaccinated Children Develop Whooping Cough
Researchers from the University of Oxford followed 279
children, aged 5 to 15 years, who visited their doctors due to a
persistent cough lasting two to eight weeks. Twenty percent of
the children were diagnosed with whooping cough, including 18
percent who were fully vaccinated against it.2
The researchers concluded:
"Pertussis can still be found in a fifth of school
age children who present in primary care with persistent
cough and can cause clinically significant cough in fully
vaccinated children."
In the US, pertussis outbreaks have been occurring around the
country, with the most highly publicized among them occurring in
California. In 2010, the largest outbreak of whooping cough in
over 50 years was reported in the state.
Again in June 2014, the director of the California Department
of Public Health declared a pertussis outbreak, with 3,458 cases
so far this year.3
The media often blames unvaccinated children as the cause of the
outbreaks, but even the CDC acknowledges this is not the case:4
"Even though children who haven't received DTaP
vaccines are at least 8 times more likely to get pertussis
than children who received all 5 recommended doses of DTaP,
they are not the driving force behind the large scale
outbreaks or epidemics."
81 Percent of Pertussis Patients Fully Vaccinated
The University of Oxford study is only the latest to show
that fully vaccinated individuals may still develop pertussis,
at high rates. In a study published in Clinical Infectious
Diseases, researchers reviewed data on every patient who
tested positive for pertussis between March and October 2010 at
the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in San Rafael, California.5
Out of these 132 patients:
81 percent were fully up to date on the whooping cough
vaccine
8 percent had never been vaccinated
11 percent had received at least one shot, but not the
entire recommended series
It's clear that children and adults who have received all the
government-recommended pertussis vaccine containing shots can
still get the disease -- and this study even suggests they may
in fact be more likely to get the diseases than
unvaccinated populations. Researchers noted the vaccine's
effectiveness was only 41 percent among 2- to 7-year-olds and a
dismal 24 percent among those aged 8-12.
With this shockingly low rate of DTaP vaccine effectiveness,
the questionable solution that public health officials have come
up with is to declare that everybody has to get three
primary shots and three follow-up booster shots just to
get the vaccine to give long-lasting protection—if any
protection is provided at all.6
Researchers noted:
"Despite widespread childhood vaccination against
Bordetella pertussis, disease remains prevalent. It has been
suggested that acellular vaccine may be less effective than
previously believed. Our data suggests that the current
schedule of acellular pertussis vaccine doses is
insufficient to prevent outbreaks of pertussis."
Four Reasons Why Pertussis Epidemics Persist
With high vaccination rates, many people would assume (and
the government would lead you to believe) that disease outbreaks
would be prevented. This clearly is not the case with pertussis,
and Peggy O'Mara, the former editor and publisher of
Mothering Magazine, recently shared four reasons why:
1. Pertussis Is Cyclical by Nature
Whooping cough is a cyclical disease and natural
increases tend to occur every 4-5 years no matter how high
the vaccination rates are in a population. According to the
CDC:7
"Since the early 1980s, there has been an overall
trend of an increase in reported pertussis cases.
Pertussis is naturally cyclic in nature, with peaks in
disease every 3-5 years. But for the past 20-30 years,
we've seen the peaks getting higher and overall case
counts going up.
There are several reasons that help explain why
we're seeing more cases as of late. These include:
increased awareness, improved diagnostic tests, better
reporting, more circulation of the bacteria, and waning
immunity."
2. Pertussis Vaccine Immunity Wanes Over Time
Pertussis vaccine loses much of its effectiveness after
just three years. This is much faster than previously
believed, and could also help explain the recent whooping
cough outbreaks in the US. The CDC acknowledges that waning
immunity is common with the DTaP vaccine:8
3. Vaccinated Individuals May Still Spread Pertussis
The pertussis booster vaccine for adolescents and adults
is called Tdap. The Tdap vaccine is recommended for children
aged 7 years and older, as well as adults, parents, and
close family members of babies under age 2 months, who are
too young to receive a pertussis-containing vaccine
themselves.
Known as "cocooning,"
this controversial practice is being promoted by the
American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and government health
officials as a way of protecting babies from whooping cough
by vaccinating their parents and other adult caregivers.
However, there is little evidence to show that this
works! In fact, research shows that vaccinated individuals
may still transmit the disease. In an animal study, while
whole cell DPT and acellular-pertussis-vaccinated baboons
did not develop serious clinical disease symptoms—such as
loss of appetite and cough—when they were exposed to the
B. pertussis bacteria, they still colonized B.
pertussis in their throats and were capable of
transmitting the infection to other baboons.9
The study's lead author Tod Merkel also explained that
when exposed to B. pertussis after recently getting
vaccinated, you could be an asymptomatic carrier and infect
others, saying:10
"When you're newly vaccinated, you are an
asymptomatic carrier, which is good for you, but not for
the population."
A Canadian study also investigated how many parents would
need to be vaccinated in order to prevent infant
hospitalizations and deaths from pertussis using the cocoon
strategy, and the results were dismal. They found the number
needed to vaccinate (NNV) for parental immunization was at
least 1 million to prevent 1 infant death, approximately
100,000 for ICU admission, and >10,000 for hospitalization.11
4. Tdap Booster Is Only Moderately Effective
With the short-lived immunity of pertussis vaccine
apparent, the Tdap booster shot is recommended for older
children and adults. But research has shown that the booster
shot is only 53 percent to 64 percent effective, which the
researchers described as "moderate."12
There is also concern that the mass use of pertussis
vaccines has already led to vaccine-resistant strains
(so-called "escape mutants") that are evolving more rapidly
and may become more virulent due to the overuse of the same
vaccine strains.
The new mutation, which some researchers are calling
"P3," is a strain that
produces more pertussis toxin (PT).13
Another reason why whooping cough cannot be entirely
eradicated is the fact that there's another Bordetella
organism – parapertussis – that can also cause
whooping cough. The symptoms of B. parapertussis,
while often milder, can look exactly like B. pertussis,
but doctors rarely recognize or test for parapertussis. And,
there is NO vaccine for it.
What Are the Risks of the Pertussis Vaccine?
Whooping cough can be serious, especially for
newborns and babies, whose tiny airways can become clogged with
the sticky mucus produced by the toxins in B. pertussis
bacteria. These babies can suffer life-threatening breathing
problems that require hospitalization and use of suctioning and
re-hydration therapies. However, the vast majority of children
and adults get through a bout with whooping cough without
complications and it is important for them to get proper
nutrition, hydration, and rest to support the healing process.
Similarly, while some children and adults get
pertussis-containing vaccines and experience no complications,
others do suffer serious reactions, injuries, or have died after
getting vaccinated. Most of the adverse effects are believed to
occur from the effects of the pertussis toxin itself, which is
one of the most lethal toxins in nature. It's a well-known
neurotoxin that is so reliable for inducing brain inflammation
and brain damage that it's used to deliberately induce
experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) in lab animals.
In the video profile of pertussis vaccine injury below,
Barbara Loe Fisher of the National Vaccine Information Center
(NVIC) interviews a Houston family with a history of vaccine
reactions that spans three generations. Now, a 12-year-old child
in the family has become permanently disabled from a reaction to
the DTaP vaccine that was given to her, along with 6 other
vaccines, at age 15 months.
Either way, getting whooping cough or getting a pertussis
vaccination entails a risk. But, remember, the vaccine carries
with it two risks: the risk of a serious side effect AND the
risk that the vaccine won't work at all or will only work for a
short period of time. What happened to this family is a potent
reminder of just how important it is to make well-informed
decisions about vaccinations.
15 Natural Remedies for Whooping Cough
If you think you have whooping cough, you should seek medical
attention right away, especially if it occurs in a young child.
However, there are some natural treatments that may help (and
certainly won't hurt). Peggy O'Mara suggested the following
options:14
Avoid mucus-forming foods, such as milk, flour, and
eggs, as well as sugar
Eat light foods such as vegetables, soups with garlic,
and herbal teas
Homeopathic remedies for pertussis include Coccus
cacti and the nosode, Pertussin.
Drosera is recommended for coughing fits followed
by gagging, retching, or vomiting. Cuprum may
be indicated for coughing fits followed by gasping for
air, difficulty breathing, or that end in exhaustion
Wild cherry bark lozenges may soothe your throat
Keep well hydrated
Try up to 5,000 milligrams of vitamin C daily for seven
days
Keep your room and home well-ventilated and free of
smoke
Use a warm air humidifier with essential oils (try
basil, cyprus, marjoram, thyme, wintergreen, tea tree,
camphor, lavender, chamomile, peppermint, or eucalyptus)
Massage essential oils with a carrier oil (like coconut
oil) into the patient's chest or back
Acupuncture may be beneficial (and its effects for
whooping cough are recognized by the World Health
Organization)
Rest and avoid exertion
Arrange pillows so the patient can be more upright while
sleeping
Boil fresh ginger root in water for 20 minutes, then add
the water to a foot bath to soak feet for up to 20
minutes
Heat a pan of water to just boiling, then add a few
drops of oil of thyme. Have the patient breathe in the
steam from the pan (cover his or her head with a towel,
being careful to avoid getting burned)
Keep skin hydrated by massaging in coconut oil daily
Protect Your Right to Informed Consent and Defend Vaccine
Exemptions
With growing uncertainty surrounding the safety and efficacy
of vaccines, it's critical to protect your right to make
independent health choices and exercise voluntary informed
consent to vaccination. It is urgent that everyone in America
stand up and fight to protect and expand vaccine informed
consent protections in state public health and employment laws.
The best way to do this is to get personally involved with your
state legislators and educating the leaders in your community.
THINK GLOBALLY, ACT LOCALLY.
National vaccine policy recommendations are made at the
federal level but vaccine laws are made at the state level. It
is at the state level where your action to protect your vaccine
choice rights can have the greatest impact. It is critical for
EVERYONE to get involved now in standing up for the legal right
to make voluntary vaccine choices in America because those
choices are being threatened by lobbyists representing drug
companies, medical trade associations and public health
officials, who are trying to persuade legislators to strip all
vaccine exemptions from public health laws.
Signing up for NVIC's free Advocacy Portal at
www.NVICAdvocacy.org
gives you immediate, easy access to your own state legislators
on your Smart Phone or computer so you can make your voice
heard. You will be kept up-to-date on the latest state bills
threatening your vaccine choice rights and get practical, useful
information to help you become an effective vaccine choice
advocate in your own community. Also, when national vaccine
issues come up, you will have the up-to-date information and
call to action items you need at your fingertips… So please, as
your first step,
sign up for
the NVIC Advocacy Portal.
Share Your Story with the Media and People You Know
If you or a family member has suffered a serious vaccine
reaction, injury or death, please talk about it. If we don't
share information and experiences with one another, everybody
feels alone and afraid to speak up. Write a letter to the editor
if you have a different perspective on a vaccine story that
appears in your local newspaper. Make a call in to a radio talk
show that is only presenting one side of the vaccine story. I
must be frank with you; you have to be brave because you might
be strongly criticized for daring to talk about the "other side"
of the vaccine story. Be prepared for it and have the courage to
not back down.
Only by sharing our perspective and what we know to be true
about vaccination will the public conversation about vaccination
open up so people are not afraid to talk about it. We cannot
allow the drug companies and medical trade associations funded
by drug companies or public health officials promoting forced
use of a growing list of vaccines to dominate the conversation
about vaccination. The vaccine injured cannot be swept under the
carpet and treated like nothing more than "statistically
acceptable collateral damage" of national one-size-fits-all
mandatory vaccination policies that put way too many people at
risk for injury and death. We shouldn't be treating people like
guinea pigs instead of human beings.
Internet Resources Where You Can Learn More
I encourage you to visit the website of the non-profit
charity, the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC), at
www.NVIC.org:
NVIC Memorial for Vaccine Victims: View
descriptions and photos of children and adults, who have
suffered vaccine reactions, injuries, and deaths. If you or
your child experiences an adverse vaccine event, please
consider posting and sharing your story here.
Vaccine Freedom Wall: View or post
descriptions of harassment and sanctions by doctors,
employers, school and health officials for making
independent vaccine choices.
Connect with Your Doctor or Find a New One That Will Listen and
Care
If your pediatrician or doctor refuses to provide medical
care to you or your child unless you agree to get vaccines you
don't want, I strongly encourage you to have the courage to
find another doctor. Harassment, intimidation, and refusal
of medical care is becoming the modus operandi of the medical
establishment in an effort to stop the change in attitude of
many parents about vaccinations after they become truly educated
about health and vaccination. However, there is hope. At least
15 percent of young doctors recently polled admit that they're
starting to adopt a more individualized approach to vaccinations
in direct response to the vaccine safety concerns of parents.
It is good news that there is a growing number of smart young
doctors, who prefer to work as partners with parents in making
personalized vaccine decisions for children, including delaying
vaccinations or giving children fewer vaccines on the same day
or continuing to provide medical care for those families, who
decline use of one or more vaccines. So take the time to locate
a doctor, who treats you with compassion and respect and is
willing to work with you to do what is right for your child.
Copyright 1997- 2014 Dr. Joseph Mercola. All Rights Reserved.