Pertussis Vaccines Now Available at Miller Children’s Hospital Long Beach

Watch Video of Dr. David Michalik

By David Michalik, DO, Miller Children’s Hospital Long Beach, Division of Pediatric Infectious Disease

One of the many things I remember about my pediatric residency was my mentor talking about hospitalized infants infected with Pertussis. According to him, these infants are amongst the scariest patients he cares for. Instead of the classic staccato cough followed by a whoop, these infants just stop breathing. Witnessing such an event is striking for a physician, let alone a parent.

Pertussis is a bacterial infection that primarily causes respiratory tract infections that can be life-threatening in certain patient populations, especially young infants. It is an endemic disease, occurring in cycles of every 3-5 years. The most recent epidemic was in 2005 when nationwide, 25,616 cases were reported (and likely many more that were not reported). Currently we are in the midst of another epidemic. In California, the reported number of Pertussis cases in 2010 is more than double that of last year for the same time period. Sadly, four infants less than 3 months of age have died in California thus far this year.

In response to the current epidemic, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) is using federal funding to initiate a statewide Tdap (tetanus-diphtheria-acellular pertussis) vaccination project for birthing hospitals. This project seeks to immunize the close contacts of newborn infants, including the parents, siblings and anyone else who may have contact with a newborn. Miller Children’s is proud and eager to participate in this project. In an effort to further decrease the number of Pertussis cases, we strongly encourage all hospital employees and eligible family members to get the Tdap booster. Services are now available through September 2010 to individuals 11 years of age or older, and to those adults who have received a Tetanus booster more than two years ago. If you feel that you may have a case of Pertussis, please report it immediately to the Long Beach or LA Dept. of Health at (562) 570-4374. If you would like more information on cost or how to receive the Tdap immunization, please contact Miller Children’s Hospital Pediatric Infectious Diseases at (562)933-8590 or http://www.millerchildrenshospitallb.org/id