I appreciate you guys reading it is very heartbreaking and its so hard how many people dont even know it still exists despite its rising rate, pertussis is the only vaccine preventable diease that is on the rise according to an article and Cdc estimates there was nearly a 63% increase in reported cases nationwide, I posted a pertussi picture and grief and loss and seeing howt he babies struggle is heartbreaking.

Thanks Lucy for posting that link. I don't read the paper much anymore. Here at the CO state health dept. the only way we test for pertussis anymore is by PCR (polymerase chain reaction). It's basically a test that looks for the pertussis DNA or RNA. We've been very busy over the past several years, but I still don't think enough doctors are willing to push for the test to be performed. It is expensive, but we are trying to get the cost down.

The more I think about it....I may have had pertussis last winter. I had a horrible cough/cold that lasted for months. I finally saw a dr. & they did nothing for it. Maybe I'll get that new vaccine for adults this year.

Thanks for posting this Lucy, I saw the article in the paper and thought it was interesting that we lead the nation in whooping cough! Scary!

Recent article on pertussis in Co dated 10/07/2005 titled "State leading nation in whooping-cough cases" http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_3094276
Just wanted to share this information as I have found out firsthand how imporant it is


Here is another article titled "Whooping cough' hits area" dated September 16, 2005 http://www.lamardaily.com/Stories/0,1413,121~7979~3057139,00.html