American researchers, for just the first time, have found new evidence that bacteria that causes whooping cough are now beginning to be resistant to vaccines.
Previously whooping cough was found to be vaccine resistant in France, Finland and Japan according to the new report. U.S. health officials have been concerned with whooping cough, also referred to as pertussis, due to the recent outbreaks of the sickness.
U.S. officials said last year that the country suffered the largest outbreak of whooping cough in 57 years, with close to 42,000 cases reported along with18 deaths, according to data supplied by the U.S. Center for Disease Control.
Today’s numbers however, pale in comparison to cases reported prior to the vaccine era in the 1930s when over 250,000 cases were reported annually. The new study showed that in 11 of the 12 children who became hospitalized in Philadelphia for whooping cough showed signs that the sickness was resistant. The bacteria in 11 of the children lacked an important protein that is in the vaccine, which helped stimulate the immunity to pertussis.
The majority of the children were babies, but one was 14 and another was 9. Doctors said the prospect of whooping cough being vaccine resistant is a big concern. Because of the lack of cases prior to the last few years, research on whooping cough that is resistant has not been that important, but now with this newest report, research will once again become a priority.
