California Pertussis Outbreak Biggest in 70 Years

A whooping cough epidemic in California this year provides additional evidence that the immunity given by acellular pertussis vaccine is not permanent, researchers reported. From Jan. 1 through Nov. 26, the state registered 9,935 cases of pertussis, for an incidence of 26.0 cases per 100,000 population, according to investigators with the California Department of Public Health. It's the largest number of cases reported in California in nearly 70 years, the group reported. Infants had the largest burden of disease, but there was also a peak among adolescents 14 through 16 -- the age cohort whose members have only had the acellular pertussis vaccine, they reported in the Dec. 5 issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. http://www.medpagetoday.com/Pediatrics/GeneralPediatrics/48935?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2014-12-05&utm_content=&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=DailyHeadlines&utm_source=ST&eun=g721819d0r&userid=721819&email=amydugan2%40gmail.com&mu_id=5883165&utm_term=Daily