Today I attended a panel discussion on the Pertussis vaccine, hosted by Southern Oregon Birth Connections. The panel consisted of Bonnie Nedrow, a naturopath, here in Ashland, Jeff Houghton, another naturopath, Jim Shames, the director of Public Health, and Michael Framson from the National Vaccine Information Center.
Pertussis,(also known as whooping cough) is a childhood illness that lasts about 6 weeks, but the cough can go on for months. It's caused by a bacteria, Bordetalla Pertussis, which kills the protective cilia in the lungs with a toxin. This part of the illness happens while the person has symptoms of a mild cold, in the first week or two. By the time the intense sporadic coughing fits happen, the damage has already been done. The most contagious part is during that initial "catarrhal phase," which is indistinguishable from a common cold. Although it is considered a childhood disease, people of all ages can get sick with it. The real danger is when babies under the age of six months get pertussis. Their immune systems have no way of fighting it off, and there is a chance that they can die from lack of oxygen or bleeding in the brain from coughing so hard.
The issue around whether to vaccinate or not is a bit tricky, though. It seems that the vaccine does not give life long immunity, and neither does getting the disease. This means that immunity starts to wear off in middle school aged kids who have not been vaccinated since they were two. Often, these cases go totally undiagnosed, because in an older child, or adults, pertussis may never sound like "whooping cough," and may just seem like a cold, turned into a nagging cough that lasts a few weeks. Many cases have also been documented of people who get sick but are completely up to date with their vaccines, so it does not always work. Doctors don't necessarily think of pertussis as a diagnosis for a regular sounding cough in a grown up, and most likely won't even be consulted, but those adults can infect infants, who are at great risk.
Since the vaccine was introduced in the early 1900's, pertussis is much less of a problem than it was, so although the vaccine is imperfect, it has been helpful. The problem is that many of us are realizing that we are bombarded by toxicity in our environments, and giving our children the 48! recommended shots before the age of two can be harmful to neurological development, as well as supressing the natural development of T-Helper 1 cells that constitute a healthy immune system. The rates of asthma and other environmental allergies is skyrocketing. Parents have a tough decision to make with this one, as with other vaccines. Pertussis outbreaks happen, especially in my community in Ashland, OR, where many kids are not vaccinated. Babies get sick, and some die. Last year, 11 died in California. Its not just unvaccinated kids passing it around.
I am still on the fence about this vaccine. It seems that there are some positive results, but the vaccine is not reliable. It is always given with tetanus and diptheria, because it won't work on its own, and the amount of boosters required to maintain immunity is undetermined. It sounds like a lot of toxic stuff for unreliable protection from the illness. I did leave with some simple helpful ideas today. The first is something that Bonnie Nedrow said. Babies under 6 months don't have an immune response, yet the vaccinations begin at two months because parents are more reliable about bringing their kids in for regular doctor visits when they are infants. She recommends waiting until 16 months to vaccinate, if you decide to do so. At this age, the vaccination will be more effective, and possibly give more lasting results. The immune system is also given a chance to develop on its own for a while without being bombarded by excess toxicity. The second thing is that we do have a responsibility to each other, so if we choose not to vaccinate, we should take extra precautions not to spread illness around. Its okay to stay home from work, or keep your kids home from school if they are sick. If you have a baby, don't spend time with people who are coughing.
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