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U.S. whooping cough epidemic not affecting California

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Whooping cough cases in California remain normal, despite an epidemic sweeping other parts of the country, state officials said Thursday.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said illnesses nationwide are on pace for the worst year in more than five decades. But that’s not the case in California.

“We’re coming off our epidemic while other states are in the middle of their epidemic,” said Dr. Kathy Harriman, an epidemiologist with the state  Department of Public Health.  “We haven’t had a death since October 2010, which is really just remarkable.”

Ten California infants died in 2010, which was described as the state’s worst year since 1945.  As a result, the state passed a law requiring all students entering seventh grade to be vaccinated for whooping cough or pertussis.

A state report from late April found a rate of less than one pertussis case per 100,000 people. At the peak in July 2010, there were 45 cases per 100,000 people.

The CDC also said the vaccine might be less effective than in the past. The previous vaccine was replaced in the 1990s to reduce negative side effects.

“We know that it’s much better to vaccinate than not be vaccinated,” Harriman said. “You’ve got an eight times higher chance of getting pertussis if you’re not vaccinated. Is (the vaccine) as good as we’d like? No.”

To learn more about where to get the vaccine in Orange County, visit the Health Care Agency.

U.S. whooping cough epidemic not affecting California is a post from: Healthy Living - The Orange County Register


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