How big of a risk are tetanus, diptheria and pertussis?

[Danestress]

Our school system is suspending over a thousand 6th graders who need a Tdap booster.

 

I always get my children the immunizations my doctor recommends, so I have no personal dog in the fight, but is a child without this booster really a risk to anyone but himself?

 

I'm sort of surprised this is happening.

[rwalizer]

I don't know much about pertussis or diptheria, but I do know that tetanus is caused by a common bacteria that lives in soil and I would never take a chance with it. All it would take is a deep punture wound (which is why it is associated with rusty nails) to introduce the organism. A doctor I once worked with referred to tetanus as being "universally fatal" and that was enough to make me keep up with tetanus vaccines for my ds and myself. Maybe someone else with more expertise could shed a little more light.

[Tarheel Heather]

There are still outbreaks of pertussis. And I had a neighbor who ended up with Tetanus. He was very ill for weeks, scared his wife something awful.

[camibami]

Tetnus and diptheria are bad news. Diptheria is transmittable (communicable?) but I don't think tetnus is. Pertussis is just whooping cough, which actually isn't so serious (comparitively speaking).

 

I guess if the school says you need them, and you want to go to school, you need to get them. Thems the rules.

 

(I know I spelled a bunch of things wrong in there!)

[RoughCollie]

Whooping Cough

 

Risk factors

 

"Some people think of whooping cough as having gone the way of polio — a childhood disease eradicated thanks to a vaccination campaign. But whooping cough hasn't been wiped out. In fact, the number of reported cases in the United States has been increasing since a historic low of approximately 1,000 cases in 1976. In 2004, more than 25,000 cases were reported, the largest number since the 1950s, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

 

Whooping cough is thought to be on the rise for two reasons. The whooping cough vaccine you receive as a child eventually wears off, leaving most teenagers and adults susceptible to the infection during an outbreak — and there continue to be regular outbreaks. In addition, children aren't fully immune to whooping cough until they've received at least three shots, leaving those 6 months and younger at greatest risk of getting the infection."

 

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/whooping-cough/DS00445/DSECTION=risk-factors

 

Causes

 

It's caused by the Bordetella pertussis bacterium, which is transmitted through droplets that are coughed or sneezed into the air by someone who's already infected.

 

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/whooping-cough/DS00445/DSECTION=causes

 

Complications

 

Infants

In infants — especially those under 6 months of age — complications from whooping cough are more severe and may include:

 

* Ear infections

* Pneumonia

* Slowed or stopped breathing

* Dehydration

* Seizures

* Brain damage

 

Because infants and toddlers are at greatest risk of complications from whooping cough, they're more likely to need treatment in a hospital. In infants under 6 months of age, complications can be life-threatening.

 

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/whooping-cough/DS00445/DSECTION=complications

Edited September 27, 2008 by RoughCollie

[RoughCollie]

Tetanus

 

Treatments and drugs

 

In most cases of tetanus, the illness is severe, and there's a risk of death despite treatment. Death may result from constriction of airways, pneumonia or instability in the autonomic nervous system. The autonomic nervous system is the part of your nervous system that controls your heart muscles, other involuntary muscles and glands.

 

Supportive therapies

Tetanus infection often requires a long period of treatment in an intensive care setting. You may need drugs to sedate you and to paralyze your muscles, and that may result in shallow breathing that needs to be supported temporarily by a ventilator.

 

People who've had tetanus often recover completely. However, some people have lasting effects, such as brain damage caused by a lack of oxygen when muscle spasms in the throat cut off the airway.

 

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/tetanus/DS00227/DSECTION=treatments-and-drugs

[abbeyej]

Well, in terms of epidemiology, pertussis is certainly an issue. I guess I'm a non-vaxxer. Or a super-delayed vaxxer. One or the other. My dd has never had any vaccines. But pertussis is the one we're likely to go ahead and do this year. Whooping cough *does* exist in this country, it's fairly readily contagious, and there's little that can be done for anyone who's infected. (Administering antibiotics early on can help reduce the *spread*, but it does nothing for the person who is ill.) Our ped admits that the reason it's becoming more of a problem now is mostly because adults' immunity has worn down over the years... But it's still a concern with young ones. For tetanus, one could wait and administer the shot if and only if a child seems to be at risk (due to an injury). I don't know much about diphtheria.

[RoughCollie]

Diphtheria

 

Years ago, diphtheria was a leading cause of death among children. Today, diphtheria is very rare in the United States and other developed countries thanks to widespread vaccination against the disease.

 

Medications are available to treat diphtheria. However, in advanced stages, diphtheria can cause damage to your heart, kidneys and nervous system. Even with treatment, diphtheria can be deadly — nearly one out of every 10 people who get diphtheria die of it.

 

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/diphtheria/DS00495

 

Causes

 

You contract diphtheria by inhaling airborne droplets exhaled by a person with the disease or by a carrier who has no symptoms. Diphtheria passes from an infected person to others through:

 

* Sneezing and coughing, especially in crowded living conditions (easily)

* Contaminated personal items, such as tissues or drinking glasses that have been used by an infected person (occasionally)

* Contaminated household items, such as towels or toys (rarely)

 

You can also come in contact with diphtheria-causing bacteria by touching an infected wound.

 

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/diphtheria/DS00495/DSECTION=causes

Edited September 27, 2008 by RoughCollie

[Ria]

How big of a risk are tetanus, diptheria and pertussis?

Diptheria and pertussis are contagious. Tetanus isn't contagious, but the pertussis and diptheria vaccines are often given with it which probably explains the school's actions. Depending on where you live, pertussis can be a serious concern. We live near Amish country (ie, lots of unimmunized kiddos) and yes, pertussis does rear its head almost every year and it can kill. I'm not sure if there are diptheria outbreaks in the US at this point; I know it is still a common deadly disease in many Third World countries.

Risk could be assesed in two ways: risk to individuals who contract the disease and risk of catching the disease.

 

As far as risk if one contracts the disease, you could google and find out the facts. As far as risk of actually catching the disease in this country, there are some variables. In general, kids in the US are at less risk of catching the diseases for which we immunize because most kids here are immunized...unimmunized children are at less risk of ever contracting the diseases because there are few carriers of them in this country. However, if the unimmunized population increases, the chance increases that such childhood diseases will once again become prevalent.

 

Ria

[Sputterduck]

The CDC has real numbers on this. Want me to look them up?

[Mom2jnb]

About 3 years ago my cousin, an EMT, was at an accident scene on an icy highway. She slipped on the interstate and got a superficial scrape. She, nor anyone she worked with, including her supervisor, thought anything of it.

 

She ended up with Tetanus. She was paralyzed from the neck down for 3 weeks with a ventialator and all.

 

This was NOT from a deep puncture wound...this was a very minor scrape.

 

After talking to her I made my dh go get the tetanus shot the following week. Mine was cancelled due to not having enough of the vaccine in. I did not reschedule mine....I really need to...that was 3 years ago and I was well overdue (like 10 years) at that time.

 

Just wanted to give a heads up because even knowing what I do I still have not forced myself to get it....

 

Alison

[Sputterduck]

From the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia...

 

"Over the past 16 years there have been 41 cases of diphtheria causing four deaths. In 2002, one case of diphtheria occurred in the United States."

 

"Every year as many as 70 cases of tetanus causing about 15 deaths are reported."

[Catherine]

used to be 30% in the US. Currently mortality is about 10% for treated cases.

 

Sadly, this is a fairly common cause of death of newborns in some undeveloped countries. Because their mothers are not vaccinated, they are vulnerable to infections at birth, and are frequently exposed to the bacteria when their cord is cut with nonsterile instruments.

[Sputterduck]

"Among persons of all ages with pertussis, 33 cases of encephalopathy and 56 pertussis-related deaths were reported during 2001--2003. Fifty-one (91%) of the deaths were among infants aged <6 months, and 42 (75%) of the deaths were among infants aged <2 months."

 

From the CDC

[Sputterduck]

"Because no cases of diphtheria, neuroinvasive or non-neuroinvasive western equine encephalitis virus disease, paralytic poliomyelitis, nonparalytic poliovirus infection, congenital rubella, severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus syndrome, smallpox, or yellow fever were reported in the United States during 2007, these diseases do not appear in these early release tables."

 

There were Zero cases of diphtheria last year. http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5733a6.htm

[Cricket]

Our previous pediatrician was fine with parents who didn't want to immunize. His preference was a delayed schedule but the one vax he really wanted to see parents give was for pertussis. He said he had reports every month of children who died from it. It is highly contagious. I don't like all the vaccinations given and how fast doctors like to give them. But I also think we don't take these diseases very seriously any more. Most likely because we've never seen anyone suffering from one of these diseases. We forget that even in our grandparents day many children died from these.

[jkwynn]

You can get pertussis whether you're immunized or not. 3 in my family had it this year, and only one had not yet been immunized.

 

The best part is that we like to have NEVER convinced docs/hospitals that's what we had. I had a hunch MONTHS before I ever got anybody to agree with me, and said as much from the beginning.

[Sputterduck]

From the above CDC link

 

There were 28 cases of Tetanus last year.

 

There were 10,454 cases of pertussis. However, the death rate of pertussis is <.2% as shown in this link:

http://www.emedicine.com/emerg/byname/pediatrics-pertussis.htm

" Now, the mortality rate for hospitalized patients in the United States and in Europe is about 1 per 500 cases (<0.2% of those reported)."

[Sputterduck]

Also from the CDC, these are the risks of the vax itself:

 

"Mild Problems (Common)

• Fever (up to about 1 child in 4)

• Redness or swelling where the shot was given (up to

about 1 child in 4)

• Soreness or tenderness where the shot was given (up

to about 1 child in 4)

These problems occur more often after the 4th and 5th

doses of the DTaP series than after earlier doses.

Sometimes the 4th or 5th dose of DTaP vaccine is

followed by swelling of the entire arm or leg in which

the shot was given, lasting 1-7 days (up to about 1

child in 30).

Other mild problems include:

• Fussiness (up to about 1 child in 3)

• Tiredness or poor appetite (up to about 1 child in 10)

• Vomiting (up to about 1 child in 50)

These problems generally occur 1-3 days after the shot.

 

Moderate Problems (Uncommon)

• Seizure (jerking or staring) (about 1 child out of

14,000)

• Non-stop crying, for 3 hours or more (up to about

1 child out of 1,000)

• High fever, over 105oF (about 1 child out of

16,000)

 

Severe Problems (Very Rare)

• Serious allergic reaction (less than 1 out of a million

doses)

• Several other severe problems have been reported

after DTaP vaccine. These include:

- Long-term seizures, coma, or lowered consciousness

- Permanent brain damage."

 

http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/VIS/downloads/vis-dtap.pdf

[Sputterduck]

TDaP booster risks:

 

"Mild Problems

(Noticeable, but did not interfere with activities)

• Pain (about 3 in 4 adolescents and 2 in 3 adults)

• Redness or swelling (about 1 in 5)

• Mild fever of at least 100.4°F (up to about 1 in 25

adolescents and 1 in 100 adults)

• Headache (about 4 in 10 adolescents and 3 in 10 adults)

• Tiredness (about 1 in 3 adolescents and 1 in 4 adults)

• Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach ache (up to 1 in 4

adolescents and 1 in 10 adults)

• Other mild problems reported include chills, body aches,

sore joints, rash, and swollen lymph glands.

 

Moderate Problems

(Interfered with activities, but did not require medical attention)

• Pain at the injection site (about 1 in 20 adolescents and

1 in 100 adults)

• Redness or swelling (up to about 1 in 16 adolescents and

1 in 25 adults)

• Fever over 102°F (about 1 in 100 adolescents and 1 in

250 adults)

• Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach ache (up to 3 in

100 adolescents and 1 in 100 adults)

• Headache (1 in 300)

 

Severe Problems

(Unable to perform usual activities; required medical attention)

• None were seen among adolescents.

• In the adult clinical trial, two adults had nervous system

problems after getting the vaccine. These may or may

not have been caused by the vaccine. They went away

on their own and did not cause any permanent harm.

• A severe allergic reaction could occur after any vaccine. They

are estimated to occur less than once in a million doses."

 

http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/vis/downloads/vis-tdap.pdf

[Sputterduck]

double post

[tibbyl]

The CDC has real numbers on this. Want me to look them up?

 

Always refreshing to encounter someone who uses statistics, not fear or anecdotes, as a decision making tool where applicable. Of course, I am making the assumption that you do.

[Sputterduck]

Always refreshing to encounter someone who uses statistics, not fear or anecdotes, as a decision making tool where applicable. Of course, I am making the assumption that you do.

 

 

Keep reading. lol I put up a bunch of numbers.

 

It's all a math equation to me.

[Starr]

A now retired pediatrician friend of mine always said that we just don't remember how sick children were before these vaccinations.

[Amy in NY]

Our previous pediatrician was fine with parents who didn't want to immunize. His preference was a delayed schedule but the one vax he really wanted to see parents give was for pertussis. He said he had reports every month of children who died from it. It is highly contagious. I don't like all the vaccinations given and how fast doctors like to give them. But I also think we don't take these diseases very seriously any more. Most likely because we've never seen anyone suffering from one of these diseases. We forget that even in our grandparents day many children died from these.

 

This is spot on. Our family delays vaccinations and spreads them out. Dtap and Hib (not that the OP questioned Hib) are the two on my list for the infant/toddler stage. Pertussis can be fatal in the under 1 population. That's why there is a move to vaccinate adults as we are now the carriers (to protect the infants.) It is highly, highly contagious.

 

Keep in mind that the Pertussis component of the Dtap is what most people react to. Dr. Sear's book breaks down the actual componets in each of the brands of vaccines; there is one that has considerately less pertussis (for children.) I'm not sure about the adult brands.

[Danestress]

I didn't mean to start a vaccination debate, and I appreciated reading what you all wrote. I never really thought about people getting diptheria and somehow when I read the news article, it just struck me as strange that it would be this particular vac (as opposed to measles or polio) which caused the problem.

[Perry]

This vaccine is important to the schools only because it includes pertussis, which is highly communicable. Diphtheria really isn't a public health issue in this country, and tetanus isn't communicable. They are just trying to prevent outbreaks of pertussis.

[NorthwestMom]

I have a cousin who is 58. He caught whooping cough at 6 weeks old from his school-aged brothers, who both had a mild case. He was hospitalized, has brain damage, and it ruined his life.

 

Because of his experience, I find the risk of not immunizing far greater than the risks of immunizing. Sure, your older child may get a cough and recover, but a newborn or someone who is immuno-compromised might suffer serious complications or even die.

[snickelfritz]

hasn't been diagnosed in the U.S. in 20 years. I only *think* I know that because we just delayed the Polio and Chicken Pox vaccines. Dd was getting multiple shots and I wanted to spread some out. When I read through the information sheets, the polio and chicken pox seemed to be the least risky to delay for a few months.

 

I know you probably picked those examples randomly, but I would assume their choice is based on the risk involved.

 

 

ETA: I just checked and it said 30 years since a wild polio diagnosis in the U.S. Wild was defined as not vaccine related. It still occurs in other countries, which is why they still vaccinate for it.

Edited September 27, 2008 by snickelfritz

[lovemykids]

where do you live?:glare:

 

;)

[lovemykids]

LOL. I don't want to move there! :tongue_smilie: