The case of a child who died from whooping cough explains why vaccination is so important

Spain is immersed in great whooping cough wave. In 2023 alone, 2,560 patients were diagnosed with this bacterial disease, which most intensively affects children, especially infants. Only in 2022 250 casesSo, obviously there has been a big explosion of diagnoses. What is known as a new epidemic wave. Considering that the vast majority of sick people have been vaccinated, anti-vaxxers They took advantage of the situation to complain that the vaccine was truly useless. However, the vaccine is beneficial for many. Unfortunately, this is best demonstrated by the sad death of a one-month-old baby whose mother was not vaccinated during pregnancy.

This case is described in a report recently published National Center of Epidemiology, belonging to the Carlos III Institute of Health.. The vaccination strategy for pregnant women was implemented in 2016, immediately after another whooping cough epidemic. It was found that this practice ensured that newborn babies had enough antibodies to fend off infection before receiving the first dose of the vaccine, after which 2 months.

Previously, what was called herd immunity. That is, the people surrounding the babies were vaccinated and thus protected them from infection until they were able to get vaccinated. Vaccinating their mothers has proven to be an even better strategy, as this sad case shows. So, if this child was one of the few unvaccinated children in the country, why did this wave of whooping cough begin?

This is not the first wave of whooping cough and will not be the last.

The first description of whooping cough symptoms associated with a single disease occurred in 1578. 1679 and 1682 when British doctors Thomas Sydenham and Thomas Willis described the first epidemics of this disease. They were the first to be described, but unfortunately not the last.

In the following centuries, many whooping cough epidemics swept the world, leading to numerous deaths, especially among infants. So when another British doctor Edward Jenner, published his results on a smallpox vaccine in the late 18th century, other scientists began researching a vaccine that could protect the population from whooping cough. But it was only in the 20th century that it was finally developed.

A new era begins

In 1906, Belgian microbiologists Jules Bordet and Octave Zhangou They isolated the bacterium for the first time Bordetella whooping cough. This and Bordetella paracoclusis These are two causes of whooping cough. Once the bacteria were isolated, it became possible to develop a weakened vaccine, following the mechanism of Jenner and the rest of the scientists who continued research in this direction. In 1914, the vaccine was ready for use. But complete success came in 1948, when the so-called vaccine began to be used. DPTalso capable of immunizing against tetanus and diphtheria.

It should be noted that with regard to whooping cough This is not a sterilizing vaccine.. That is, as with COVID-19, this vaccine does not prevent vaccinated people from becoming infected. But it prevents serious cases. In addition, the viral load is reduced, making the disease less contagious. The vaccine is currently administered almost everywhere in the world in four doses. In Spain, for example, immunization doses are administered 2 and 4 monthsand then two memories, one at 11 months, the other at 6 years.

Thanks to this, major epidemics of this disease have subsided in most parts of the world. Waves of whooping cough usually occur in these countries. In Spain, for example, such waves occur approximately every 3-5 years. The largest one occurred in 2015, hence the decision to vaccinate pregnant women. Since then, there has been a large coverage of the population of our country. In 2022, 93.3% of children and 87.2% of pregnant women will be vaccinated. Obviously, they still get sick, but you can see how much the mortality rate has decreased.

Why did the child die?

The only death in the region was a one-month-old baby, according to a just-released report. whooping cough wave. At least as far as 2023 is concerned. It is not reported in which autonomous community he was located, and no other information is provided. But two important facts are mentioned: he had no previous pathologies and his mother was not vaccinated during pregnancy.

It is clear that you had a case of lack of immunity. At such a young age, they have not yet received the first dose of the DPT vaccine, so they need the immunity passed on during pregnancy. And of course, they also need the people around them to be vaccinated.

Because the whooping cough vaccine loses its effectiveness over the years, health authorities are asking teens to get another shot. Both they and adults get sick very easily, but they can infect children and infants, including those who have not yet been vaccinated. So we shouldn’t get carried away anti-vaccine movements who note that if the vaccine had had any benefit, this wave of whooping cough would not have happened. If a vaccine existed, we would not be faced with a passing wave, but with a major epidemic. And there would be no death to mourn. There will be many more fathers and mothers who will lose their young children.

Misinformation can be very dangerous, and anti-vaccine movements can cause great damage. Vaccines save lives. This is not a matter of opinion, but of evidence.