Whooping Cough Vaccine Protection Wanes Fast
Whooping Cough Vaccine Protection Wanes Fast
Sept. 12, 2012 -- 2012 is shaping up to be the worst year for whooping cough in more than five decades, and a new study from California may help explain why.
When researchers studied a 2010 outbreak in that state, they found that protection among children vaccinated against whooping cough (also known as pertussis) waned dramatically during the five years after their last immunization.
In the U.S., most children receive five doses of the combined diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTaP) vaccine, beginning at around 2 months of age and ending between the ages of 4 and 6 years.
Researchers have long suspected that a newer version of the whooping cough vaccine, introduced in 1997, does not protect as long as the older version. And this, they think, has contributed to the increase in cases across the nation.
The new analysis of the California outbreak appears to confirm this.
“The current available vaccines are the safest that we have ever had, and they do protect against pertussis,” says researcher Nicola P. Klein, MD, PhD, of the Kaiser Permanente Vaccine Study Center. “They just don’t last as long as we would like.”
As of last week, slightly more than 26,000 cases of whooping cough had been reported to the CDC since the first of the year, says CDC medical epidemiologist Thomas A. Clark, MD.
That’s twice as many cases as were reported by this time last year.
“We are seeing 1,000 new cases a week right now, so they are still coming at a pretty brisk clip,” Clark says.
Other than infants, the rise has been greatest among children between the ages of 7 and 10, followed by young teens.
The spike in these age groups first alerted investigators to the possibility that the newer vaccine may not be as long-lasting as the older one, which was replaced for safety reasons.
To test this theory, the Kaiser Permanente investigators focused their research on children who had been vaccinated with the newer combined vaccine.
Whooping Cough Vaccine Protection Wanes Fast
Sept. 12, 2012 -- 2012 is shaping up to be the worst year for whooping cough in more than five decades, and a new study from California may help explain why.
When researchers studied a 2010 outbreak in that state, they found that protection among children vaccinated against whooping cough (also known as pertussis) waned dramatically during the five years after their last immunization.
Vaccines Safe, but Protection Doesn’t Last
In the U.S., most children receive five doses of the combined diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTaP) vaccine, beginning at around 2 months of age and ending between the ages of 4 and 6 years.
Researchers have long suspected that a newer version of the whooping cough vaccine, introduced in 1997, does not protect as long as the older version. And this, they think, has contributed to the increase in cases across the nation.
The new analysis of the California outbreak appears to confirm this.
“The current available vaccines are the safest that we have ever had, and they do protect against pertussis,” says researcher Nicola P. Klein, MD, PhD, of the Kaiser Permanente Vaccine Study Center. “They just don’t last as long as we would like.”
26,000 Whooping Cough Cases Reported
As of last week, slightly more than 26,000 cases of whooping cough had been reported to the CDC since the first of the year, says CDC medical epidemiologist Thomas A. Clark, MD.
That’s twice as many cases as were reported by this time last year.
“We are seeing 1,000 new cases a week right now, so they are still coming at a pretty brisk clip,” Clark says.
Other than infants, the rise has been greatest among children between the ages of 7 and 10, followed by young teens.
The spike in these age groups first alerted investigators to the possibility that the newer vaccine may not be as long-lasting as the older one, which was replaced for safety reasons.
To test this theory, the Kaiser Permanente investigators focused their research on children who had been vaccinated with the newer combined vaccine.