Since the end of the 1970s, whooping cough has been making a comeback in the United States. According to a study, published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, this highly contagious respiratory infection does not return due to a defect in the vaccine.
Whooping cough is a rare disease. And for good reason. Many countries, such as Australia, France or the United States have implemented generalized vaccination for over fifty years. Long considered a disease of infants, vaccination is done at an early age. But since the end of the 1970s, whooping cough has made a comeback, particularly in the United States. American researchers from the University of Michigan have sought to find out why. They publish their results in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
Not the fault of the vaccine
One would think that if pertussis returns, the vaccine is no longer effective. But the reality is quite different. “Conventional beliefs are based on the idea that the current vaccine is the problem, but it is not compatible with what we see”, estimates thus Aaron King, one of the researchers of the study. According to the researchers, the resurgence of this highly contagious respiratory disease is due to several factors. First, the population, over the decades, which has been renewed naturally. Also, vaccination coverage in the United States remains incomplete. Finally, the immunity given by the vaccine gradually decreases.
End of honeymoon
The first whooping cough vaccine was introduced in the late 1940s. According to researchers, there was then a phenomenon known as the “honeymoon”. Concretely, the vaccine has been very effective for years. There were few patients. But according to the researchers, the return of whooping cough in recent decades proves the end of this honeymoon.
Every year, whooping cough is responsible for 195,000 deaths worldwide. In the days before the vaccine, whooping cough was a very common childhood disease in the United States. Most children were exposed to the bacteria responsible for this disease, Bortedella pertussis. They have therefore developed a lasting immunity, which is still present in adulthood. But over the years, these “immune” Americans have disappeared.
Incomplete vaccination
At the same time, the number of adults susceptible to whooping cough has increased. These are people who were not vaccinated during their childhood. The researchers emphasize an important point here: in the United States, the vaccination process has remained incomplete.
Many Americans escaped the disease during childhood, were not vaccinated and therefore did not benefit from natural or non-natural immunity to the disease. On the other hand, the vaccine offers a longer immunity than that evoked by its detractors. According to the researchers, the vaccine is effective for more than ten years, against five to seven years according to popular belief.
.
