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"Protecting the health and informed consent rights of children since
1982."

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BL Fisher Note:

Until research is funded and conducted to identify genetic and other
biological high risk factors for adverse responses to pertussis
vaccination, the mass vaccination of all teens with pertussis vaccine
will result in cases of brain inflammation, brain damage and death.
The ability of both whole cell and acellular pertussis vaccines to
cause encephalopathy, including seizures, is well known. Pertussis
vaccine has historically been contraindicated in children over 7 years
of ago and it is irresponsible to implement mass vaccination with
pertussis vaccine without clear biological markers indicating which
individuals are at higher risk for suffering brain
and immune system dysfunction following vaccination.
 




REUTERS Health
http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2004/12/09
Pertussis vaccination recommended for teens

2004-12-09

By Will Boggs, MD

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Adolescents and some adults should be
revaccinated against pertussis, also known as "whopping cough," to
decrease the risk of transmission to infants, according to a report in
Clinical Infectious Diseases.

Pertussis is very common, Dr. Kevin D. Forsyth from Flinders
University, Adelaide, South Australia told Reuters Health. "We need
high awareness and a high index of suspicion of the disease; we want
better and more standard diagnostics and clinical definitions, and we
want to see immunization be more universally implemented, at least for
adolescents and those around and caring for young children."

Forsyth and members of the Global Pertussis Initiative analyzed
pertussis disease trends and investigated alternatives to improve
disease control through expanded vaccination strategies.

According to the findings, as many as 32 percent of adolescents and
adults with a coughing illness lasting one to two weeks or longer have
pertussis, but the largest risk is for infants, especially those not
fully vaccinated.

Waning immunity underlies the risk of pertussis in older individuals
vaccinated in childhood, the authors point out, suggesting that
vaccination strategies should be reconsidered.

The researchers recommend a variety of region-specific approaches. For
example, in North America vaccination of all adolescents and adults
would foster lifelong immunity to pertussis infection.

In Europe, adding booster vaccinations for preschoolers and
adolescents and selective vaccination of health care workers appears
more appropriate. In Australia, Argentina, and Japan, vaccination of
all adolescents could reduce illnesses in adolescents and young adults.

Nevertheless, Forsyth concluded that there are many unanswered
questions and "we want to...see what happens as our recommendations
are implemented in different countries."

SOURCE: Clinical Infectious Diseases, December 15, 2004.



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