Pertussis Vaccination: Terms And Types Of Vaccines, Contraindications, Complications

2024 Author: Josephine Shorter | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-07 17:49

Whooping cough vaccine

Coughing attacks that accompany whooping cough can provoke the development of neurosis in almost anyone, even a mentally healthy person. Moreover, no drugs can cope with the cough. Although much less common cases of whooping cough are reported in the modern world, they still occur. Moreover, the disease is especially dangerous for young children.

Doctors suggest getting the whooping cough vaccine.

Most parents immediately have a number of questions:

• Is this vaccine needed if the disease is not widespread?
• How does vaccination affect a child's health?
• What you need to know about whooping cough vaccine?
• What are the consequences after its introduction and how to cope with them?

These questions will be answered in detail in our article.

Content:

• Is it necessary to get the whooping cough vaccine?
• The timing of the vaccination. Where is the whooping cough vaccine given?
• Contraindications to pertussis vaccination
• Possible complications
• Useful Tips
• What can be a whooping cough vaccine?
• Frequently Asked Questions

Is it necessary to get the whooping cough vaccine?

The bacterium that provokes the disease quickly loses its viability in external conditions, but when the infection does occur, it is almost impossible to get rid of the disease. The pertussis stick lives on surrounding objects for only a few minutes. Factors such as sunlight, disinfection of the room and even ordinary cleaning without the use of any specialized means can kill it.

Whooping cough is an infectious disease that has an acute course and is accompanied by a paroxysmal cough. The causative agent of whooping cough is Borde-Zhangu's bacillus (bordetella). The source of the spread of infection is a sick person. The disease is transmitted by airborne droplets.

The incubation period of the disease lasts 3-15 days and is not accompanied by any symptoms. The catarrhal period lasts 14 days. At this time, the patient has a dry cough, the body temperature rises to 38 ° C, there is a slight runny nose.

The next period is called "spasmodic". Its duration is 4 weeks. At this time, the patient suffers from paroxysmal cough, which is accompanied by short-term respiratory arrest and often ends with vomiting.

The last period of the disease is called the resolution stage. It lasts about 2 weeks. At this time, coughing attacks begin to fade away gradually.

The reasons for setting up the whooping cough vaccine are as follows:

• The disease has a long course, accompanied by a paroxysmal cough, which cannot be eliminated by taking medications.
• The cough is characterized by reprisals. During coughing shocks that follow one after another, the child tries to inhale through the narrowed glottis. As a result, it makes a whistling sound.
• Immunity is not passed from woman to child at birth, even if she once had an illness.
• To date, no medicine has been found that would relieve the patient's paroxysmal cough. Treatment is reduced to symptomatic therapy.
• Children under the age of one year tolerate the disease extremely hard. In this age group, the risk of death is extremely high.
• Prior to the start of the mass vaccination campaign, epidemics of pertussis among children were recorded in the USSR. Moreover, most often the disease affected babies under 5 years old.
• Due to the fact that the pertussis vaccine was created, infant mortality was reduced by 45 times.
• An infection once transferred does not give lifelong immunity.
• Whooping cough is dangerous for its complications, including rupture of the tympanic membrane, pneumonia, hemorrhage in the conjunctiva of the eye, the formation of an umbilical hernia, and rectal prolapse.

Vaccination also does not guarantee that a person will not get whooping cough. However, if infected, the disease will have a mild course and will not cause serious complications. Pertussis treatment is much more expensive for the government than a massive vaccination campaign.

The timing of the vaccination. Where is the whooping cough vaccine given?

Pertussis vaccination is part of the routine vaccination schedule. The vaccine is one of the first to be administered to a child, since whooping cough is the most dangerous disease for children under one year old. If a child becomes infected before the time when the vaccine was administered to him, then he is urgently hospitalized.

The timing of pertussis vaccination is as follows:

• Three months - staging the first vaccination in combination with tetanus and diphtheria vaccines (DTP).
• 4.5 months - setting of the second vaccine.
• Six months - setting of the third vaccine. You can not enter the vaccine earlier than 1 month after the previous vaccination.
• At 18 months, children are shown revaccination, which contributes to the formation of a more stable immunity.

Pertussis vaccine is injected intramuscularly into the antero-outer thigh. The dose is 0.5 ml.

Contraindications to pertussis vaccination

It should be noted that after the vaccination is administered, the risk of pertussis infection remains, since after several years its effect weakens. In addition, infection can occur if a poor-quality vaccine is administered to the child. However, in practice, this happens very rarely.

Vaccine administration can be postponed under the following conditions:

• The child suffers from an acute illness, or his chronic illness has worsened. Until the baby's condition is stabilized, he will not be vaccinated.
• If the previous vaccination caused severe allergic reactions, then further administration of the vaccine must be abandoned.
• Diseases of the nervous system, which tend to progress, are an obstacle to the injection.
• If the child has already suffered from whooping cough, then the vaccine is not given to him for some time.

A slight runny nose and mild sore throat are not contraindications to the vaccine. However, if the doctor deems it necessary, he will postpone the scheduled vaccination.

Possible complications

In the Russian Federation, children under the age of 6 are given a complex vaccine called DTP. In addition to the pertussis component, it contains cells that protect the child's body from tetanus and diphtheria.

Vaccines can be live, but inactivated. They are also called whole cell vaccines, but there are also split vaccines consisting of fragments of whooping cough. In our country, inactivated vaccines are used, which have their own advantages and disadvantages.

It should be noted that DPT is one of the vaccines that most often causes negative reactions in the body. They are due to the presence of the pertussis component in it.

Local side effects include:

• Hyperemia of the skin at the injection site.
• The appearance of a painful lump under the skin. Normally, the seal should not be more than 2.5 cm in diameter.

The general reactions of the body can be noted as follows:

• An increase in body temperature, which sometimes can reach values of 38.5 ° C.
• General malaise and weakness.

As a rule, after a few hours, these reactions go away on their own. However, if the child's temperature lasts for a long time, or the seal exceeds 2.5 cm in diameter, it is necessary to consult a doctor.

Taking medications requires the following complications of vaccination:

• Formation of aseptic infiltrate.
• The appearance of rashes at the injection site. A possible allergic reaction to the vaccination is Quincke's edema and anaphylactic shock.
• On the part of the nervous system, negative reactions are also possible, which are manifested by loud crying, increased anxiety, and sleep disturbances.
• An encephalopathic reaction may occur to the introduction of the vaccine, which manifests itself 2-3 days after the vaccination. It is expressed by convulsions, fever, loss of consciousness. If the reaction is weak, then the child may experience muscle twitching and tremors of the limbs.
• An extremely rare complication is encephalitis.
• If a child was given a poor-quality vaccine, or he has a weak immune system, then this threatens the development of post-vaccination whooping cough.

The consultation of a specialist, as well as a high-quality examination of the child before and after the vaccination, will help to minimize the risk of complications. Parents should make sure in advance that there is a drug in the house that allows you to reduce the temperature of the baby.

Useful Tips

Parents need to gather as much information as possible about which vaccine will be given to their child. It is important to check with the doctor what the body's reactions may be after its setting and how to deal with them more effectively.

It is possible that the following information may be useful to parents, which the doctor may forget to inform during the appointment:

• In addition to being examined by a pediatrician, it is good if the child is examined by a neurologist. This will eliminate diseases of the nervous system.
• After the vaccination, you can continue to walk with your child if the weather is fine.
• On the day of vaccination, you should refuse to take a bath. If necessary, you can shower your baby. Rubbing the injection site is strictly prohibited. You cannot swim in open water. The time of water procedures should not exceed 10 minutes.
• It is best to refuse to visit crowded places. This will minimize the risk of contracting other infections. It is advisable not to invite guests to the house.
• It is impossible to introduce a new food product into the child's menu after the vaccination. This will avoid allergies.

There are no other tips and tricks regarding lifestyle changes.

What can be a whooping cough vaccine?

The whole cell vaccine contains live bacteria, but they are artificially weakened. The split vaccines contain fragments of whooping cough. Split vaccines are less severe, but more expensive. Therefore, the state provides its citizens with budgetary whole-cell vaccinations.

The vaccine is called DTP, which stands for "adsorbed diphtheria-tetanus pertussis". 1 ml of vaccine contains 20 billion pertussis bacillus, which is equivalent to 2 doses.

Whole cell vaccine analogues:

• Tritanrix, which contains components that protect against tetanus, diphtheria, whooping cough, hepatitis B and Haemophilus influenzae.
• Bubo-kok, which is supplemented only with a component that protects against hepatitis B.

Split vaccines:

• Infanrix is an analogue of DPT containing exactly the same components.
• Infanrix Hexa, in addition to the components for whooping cough, diphtheria and tetanus, it contains antibodies to Haemophilus influenzae, poliomyelitis and hepatitis B. Geksavac vaccination has a similar effect.
• Pentavac provides protection against diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, polio and Haemophilus influenzae.

Monocomponent pertussis vaccine is also used in Europe, but it is not used in Russia.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Is pertussis vaccine given to adults? No, there is no adult vaccination. The disease is especially dangerous for children. Adults, except for a lingering cough, do not experience any other complications of the disease. Pregnant women are also not vaccinated against whooping cough.
• How long is the immunity to whooping cough? The vaccine is valid for 3-5 years. Although cells can circulate in a child's body for up to 12 years in a row.
• Can I get whooping cough after getting the vaccine? Yes, this risk remains. This happens due to the fact that the vaccine was of inadequate quality, or many years have passed since the vaccination. Therefore, adolescents and adults can get whooping cough, but their illness is easy.

For reference: before the development of the vaccine, whooping cough claimed a huge number of children's lives. Therefore, after its introduction to the masses, people considered the whooping cough vaccine almost a magical means to save the life of a child. It should be noted that little has changed since then, and the vaccine is the only way to protect a child from a fatal disease.

Author of the article: Danilova Tatyana Vyacheslavovna | Infectionist

Education: in 2008 received a diploma in General Medicine (General Medicine) at the Pirogov Russian Research Medical University. Immediately passed an internship and received a diploma of a therapist