Whooping cough(pertussis),a childhood disease of the past,is making a comeback.According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,there was an epidemic of more than 48,000 cases in the United States in 2012-more cases than in any year since 1955(see Figure 1).Data from Public Health England(PHE)show that,in the same year,almost 10,000 cases were diagnosed in England,causing 14 infant deaths-a startling ten-fold rise from levels in the previous decade(see Figure 2).At first glance,tiiese epidemics may seem like the result of low vaccination rates,perhaps owing to anti-vaccination sentiments,but pertussis vaccination rates remain high in both the UK and the United States.Epidemiologists and other scientists have been investigating why incidence of the disease is on the rise in some countries and what interventions are needed to stop it.Whooping cough is so named because of the severe coughing fits it causes and the high-pitched’whoop’sound that can occur on inhaling at the end of a coughing episode.Coughing is so severe it can lead to vomiting,fatigue and,in some case,even broken ribs.US statistics indicate that almost 10% of recorded cases of whooping cough result in admission to hospital,with the majority of deaths(0.12% of cases)occurring in children aged less than one year1.The illness is caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis,with symptoms owing to several toxins secreted by the bacterium,including pertussis toxin.
展开▼
