Stephen Aronoff
Anna Nguyen, Healthy Kids blog Editor
Whooping cough is making a comeback. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 41,000 cases last year in the United States, the highest level in decades. One reason for these numbers could be that immunity from the vaccine diminishes each year after the fifth dose is given to children around four to six years of age, according to a recent study.
Other factors in this increase include a true increase in whooping cough, increased recognition and reporting by physicians, and improved lab tests to identify the disease.
It’s not only the flu striking hard this year. A new strain of norovirus is the cause of over 50 percent of outbreaks that began last fall. It is one of the most common causes of food borne diarrheal disease outbreaks.
Norovirus outbreaks originate with contaminated food, and usually occur in daycare centers, schools, prisons, and on cruise ships. It is spread by water, person-to-person contact, or by touching an infected surface. Introduction of the virus into the community leads to sporadic or widespread epidemics, much like influenza virus.
Humans appear to be the only species that harbor norovirus and as a result, humans not only spread disease, but serve as the reservoir for the virus. Unlike many infectious diseases, ingestion of a very small number of infectious particles can cause disease. The virus is hardy and can live on countertops, doorknobs and other surfaces for extended periods of time.
In 1912, diphtheria killed 1,812 of every 100,000 American children. Measles killed 700 of every 100,000. Meningitis killed 1,150 of every 100,000 kids. Fast-forward to last year, when zero American children died of diphtheria or measles in 2011 – and the mortality rate for meningitis was approximately 2 cases per million people.
What caused this dramatic reduction? Vaccines.
So why is there a modern backlash against vaccines for babies, kids and teens? Two of the greatest impediments to successful vaccination of infants and children are misunderstandings and misinformation about side effects. (These will be the topic of my next blog post.) First, parents should understand the simple, life-saving concept behind these important shots – and how three main classes of vaccines that they’ll encounter in their pediatrician’s or family doctor’s office work.
Today we welcome another regular contributor to the Healthy Kids blog: Stephen C. Aronoff, M.D., M.B.A., Waldo E. Nelson Chair, Department of Pediatrics, Temple University School of Medicine. Dr. Aronoff is a specialist in infectious diseases, and he gets started with one of the most common of all: the cold.
Who hasn’t had a child return from school early one afternoon with the complaint “I have a cold”? We all know what’s coming: Three to five days of coughing, sneezing, runny nose, fever and missed school. We also know that within a week or so, everything will return to normal. It may come as a surprise, then, that colds (also called acute upper respiratory tract infections) are the leading cause of visits to pediatricians’ offices and emergency rooms across the country. The cost for all of these visits runs into billions of dollars nationally — all for a disease that has no specific treatment and that will be over in about a week.
Colds raise two questions for parents of otherwise healthy children: “What can I do to make my child more comfortable” and “When should I seek medical care for my child?” Here’s what you should know:
Today we welcome another regular contributor to the Healthy Kids blog: Stephen C. Aronoff, M.D., M.B.A., Waldo E. Nelson Chair, Department of Pediatrics, Temple University School of Medicine. Dr. Aronoff is a specialist in infectious diseases, and he gets started with one of the most common of all: the cold.
Who hasn’t had a child return from school early one afternoon with the complaint “I have a cold”? We all know what’s coming: Three to five days of coughing, sneezing, runny nose, fever and missed school. We also know that within a week or so, everything will return to normal. It may come as a surprise, then, that colds (also called acute upper respiratory tract infections) are the leading cause of visits to pediatricians’ offices and emergency rooms across the country. The cost for all of these visits runs into billions of dollars nationally — all for a disease that has no specific treatment and that will be over in about a week.
Colds raise two questions for parents of otherwise healthy children: “What can I do to make my child more comfortable” and “When should I seek medical care for my child?” Here’s what you should know:
