Pertussis

Immunization at Birth Vaccines are one of the successful advances in public health history, and are tested thoroughly by scientists to ensure their safety and effectiveness. Vaccines are developed, tested, and regulated even more thoroughly than non-vaccine drugs because the number of human subjects in vaccine clinical trials is usually greater (College of Physicians of Philadelphia). The current system for developing, testing, and regulating vaccines developed during the 20th century, which…

Aging is inevitable in all living things. As individuals age, a number of things occur, both mental and physical. Graying hair and wrinkled skin are external signs of aging and the most noticeable. Cognitive changes, which are associated with mental processes such as sensation and perception, memory, intelligence, language, thought, and problem-solving, occur among aging adults (American Psychological Association, 2015). People age at different rates depending on genetics, diet, culture,…

the most common infectious childhood disease to cause death in most of the major urban centers of Europe and the United States, “with case fatality rates that reached or exceeded 30% in some areas–eclipsing even measles, (al, 2013)diptheria, and pertussis. The deadliest point in time was from 1840 until 1883. By the middle of the twentieth century, the mortality rate from scarlet fever fell to around 1%.” (al, 2013) A once mass killer of children has been reduced with penicillin, now widely…

Every year, school children begin the same ritual; mandatory vaccinations. They bring home packets full of forms stating which vaccines are required for each child to attend school. For most families, this is just another duty to add to a checklist of things to do for school and gets done without a second thought, but for some, this is a dreaded process. Many parents choose to opt out of vaccinating their children for reasons such as, medical limitations and religious beliefs, but over the last…

The anti vaccination movement was born at the beginning of the twentieth century. The movement came about after several failed vaccinations resulting in serious injury and in some cases death have occurred. Most of these fatalities were children, which added to the anger in parents. The Supreme Court ruled on a landmark case Jacobsen vs. Massachusetts in 1905, this ruling mandated parents to vaccinate their children or incur a penalty. Government involvement in the lives of the people was…

Currently in the US, parents, teachers, and doctors are all at a loss when it comes to deciding whether or not it is an ethical decision to mandate vaccinations of young children. Some people believe it is against their religious freedom and parental rights to mandate vaccinations in young children, but then there is also the argument that it is unethical to opt out of vaccinations for a child because of the risk of infection of many death-causing illnesses that would harm the child. So is it…

During the seven months period from 01/01/15 to 07/24/2015, there were 5 outbreaks of 183 measles cases reported in 24 states of America and the District of Columbia. Individuals who got measles in these cases were unvaccinated (3). In 2014, there were 23 measle outbreaks, including one large outbreak of 383 cases, occurring in the unvaccinated Amish communities in the state of Ohio (4). Three out of 11 outbreaks in 2013 had more than 20 cases and one outbreak had 58 cases (5). The symptoms of…

macrophages and antigen presenting cells (APCs). A good example of primary innate immune defense is the mucus membrane, which eliminates bacterial adhesion by ciliary movement or mucus in the upper respiratory tract (Fedtke et al., 2004). Bordetella pertussis is a well-known example of the strategy that disables the clearance role of ciliary epithelial cells in the upper respiratory tract. This bacterium releases tracheal cytotoxin, which impairs ciliary movement and leads to the colonization of…

Many studies have shown that vaccinations are saving lives each day; they prevent people from diseases that human bodies aren’t naturally immune to. The anti-vaccination movement has decreased the amount of vaccinations given, and this movement is creating an increase in diagnoses of diseases that could’ve been prevented with a vaccine. Receiving vaccines prevent diseases not only for each person individually, but for the people surrounding that individual; vaccines are crucial for the entire…

has shown a small increased risk for febrile seizures during the 24 hours after a child receives the inactivated influenza vaccine (IIV) at the same time as the pneumococcal 13-valent conjugate (PCV13) vaccine or the diphtheria, tetanus, acellular pertussis (DTaP) vaccine,” (“Childhood Vaccines and Febrile”). Although not likely, negative side effects such as febrile seizures are possible post vaccination. Another counterargument is that some of the mandatory vaccines do not apply to people,…