Pertussis on Rise in U.S. Elderly
Pertussis, a respiratory illness commonly known as whooping cough, is a very contagious disease caused by a type of bacteria called Bordetella pertussis. Since the early 1980s, there has been an overall trend of an increase in reported pertussis cases. In this video participants discuss the results of a new study estimating that between 2006 and 2010, the incidence of cough illnesses attributed to B. pertussis has nearly doubled in Americans aged 50-64 and more than doubled in Americans over the age of 65. They also discuss new data suggesting current pertussis vaccines are inadequate.
Host:
Host:
Michael Schmidt, Medical Univ. of South Carolina, Charleston, SC
Guests:
Cristina Masseria, GlaxoSmithKline Vaccines, King of Prussia, PA
Roger Baxter, Kaiser Permanente Vaccine Study Center, Oakland, CA
Masseria C, Krishnarajah S “The estimated incidence of pertussis in people aged ≥50 years in the United States, 2006-2010” ICAAC 2013; Abstract L-1318.