THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, July 30, 1996 TAG: 9607300252
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DEBRA GORDON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 67 lines
A new and safer whooping cough vaccine for infants may help increase vaccination rates, says a local expert, thus reducing the risk of outbreaks like the one that hit Virginia Beach earlier this month.
The new vaccine, which a Food and Drug Administration committee recommended for approval earlier this month, results in far fewer side effects than the vaccine currently in use, said Dr. Larry Pickering, director of the Center for Pediatric Research, a joint program of Eastern Virginia Medical School and Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters.
The FDA, which typically follows the recommendations of its advisory committees, is expected to make a decision in August.
Once the new vaccine is approved, it could be in local doctors' offices within days.
The incidence of whooping cough, often referred to by its medical name, pertussis, has dropped dramatically since the introduction of the first vaccine more than 50 years ago. Outbreaks still occur, however.
In July, five Virginia Beach children contracted whooping cough. That compares to five children for all of 1995, and six for 1994.
Adults can contract pertussis, but the disease occurs most often and is most serious in infants and young children, for whom it may lead to choking, pneumonia or fatal seizures.
The current vaccine works by introducing a dead version of the pertussis bacteria into the body. That triggers the body's production of antibodies against the disease, giving the vaccinated person immunity without actually contracting the disease.
The new acellular pertussis vaccine, which was tested locally at the research center, uses only a portion of the pertussis bacterium instead of the whole thing, resulting in fewer side effects.
It is just as effective as the vaccine now used, Pickering said. The vaccine now used is given to children at 2, 4, 6 and 15 months of age, and between 4 and 6 years of age in the form of the DPT combination vaccine that fights diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus.
Between 10 and 20 percent of children have mild reactions to the current pertussis vaccine, including low fever, irritability and pain at the injection site. In a very few patients, extremely high fevers, convulsions, uncontrollable crying or shock/collapse will occur.
``Seventy percent of the side effects of all vaccines is linked with pertussis,'' Pickering said. The new vaccine results in significantly fewer side effects, he said.
The potential for serious side affects is enough to deter some parents from allowing their children to be vaccinated, Pickering said.
When parents bring their infants for a DPT vaccination, they are given a written explanation of possible reactions to the vaccine and asked to sign a disclaimer. Some parents simply decline the shots or they wait until their children are older to get them vaccinated.
Because the new vaccine has noticeably fewer side effects, parents may be less worried about allowing their children to get it, he said.
In fact, during clinical trials of the vaccine at the center, Pickering said, some parents were so stunned by the lack of side effects that they thought their child had been given a placebo.
The new vaccine is also being tested in adults, Pickering said. Adults, who contract 15 percent of pertussis cases, are usually the ones who infect young children, he said.
The pertussis vaccine now in use isn't given to anyone over age 7 because it causes more severe side effects in adults.
Immunizing adults would help reduce the chance of outbreaks like the one in Virginia Beach, Pickering said.
KEYWORDS: WHOOPING COUGH VACCINE VACCINATIONS by CNB