[ad_1]
Pertussis vaccinations free and so important for hapu
mama and young children, says Nikki Turner, Medical Director
of the Immunisation Advisory Centre.
“We need to be
aware that coughing and sneezing may not just be a cold, or
even COVID, but could be Pertussis (whooping cough), which
is circulating in our communities now, and today’s sad
news of two deaths reminds us we need to be careful. Our
thoughts and aroha are with the families today,” says Nikki
Turner, .
Pertussis is a highly contagious respiratory
disease that can be particularly serious for young children
and babies. It causes a paroxysmal cough (bouts of coughing)
that can make the person go red in the face with the cough,
sometimes struggle to breath, vomit with it or at times may
lead to a whoop sound. The cough can last up to 3 months. It
is particularly severe in young infants who can struggle to
breath, go blue or get bleeds from coughing so
much.
“The good news is that you can protect yourself
and your children with vaccination. Having a Boostrix
vaccine during pregnancy will provide babies with protection
for the first few months of their lives, and ensuring young
children they have their National Schedule immunisations on
time at 6 weeks, 3 months, and 5 months (DTaP vaccine) will
provide further protection against Pertussis,” says Nikki
Turner.
Those most at risk of serious disease are
infants under 12 months of age. Around half the babies who
catch pertussis before the age of 12 months require
hospitalisation and 1 or 2 in 100 of those hospitalised die
from pertussis infection. Severe coughing can temporarily
stop the oxygen supply to the brain (hypoxia). In around 2
in 1,000 children pertussis leads to permanent brain damage,
paralysis, deafness or blindness. Secondary infections such
as pneumonia and ear infections can occur.
Many
pregnant people are unaware they can get a vaccine that will
protect their new-born infant against this awful disease for
those early months before they get protection from their own
immunisation events. Infants who do not receive on-time
doses of pertussis-containing vaccine at the scheduled times
of 6 weeks, 3 months, and 5 months are around five times
more likely to be hospitalised with pertussis than those
babies who are vaccinated on time..
“Anyone with a
respiratory illness should stay away from young babies as a
general rule, and the presence of Pertussis in our
communities makes this even more important. Pertussis is
always in our community but we see epidemic surges every 3-5
years. The last epidemic was in 2018 and it looks like we
may be starting to see the rise in rates again now. Lets
protect our infants now,” says Nikki
Turner.
© Scoop Media
[ad_2]
Source link