- [Voiceover] Lets start with summarizing
what we discussed up until now about Pertussis.
Pertussis is caused by a microscopic bacteria
having a rod-like shape like I'm drawing here.
It's a highly contagious upper respiratory
tract infection transmitted through aerosols
or by touching the eyes, nose, or mouth with
an infection source like this man's hands.
And bacteria damages airways and allows mucus
to build up in the airways until it's forcefully
removed by violent coughing fits followed immediately
by a whooping noise when the air is finally able
to come back into the lungs after a fit.
We also discussed that the clinical symptoms
of Pertussis infection can last around twelve weeks
and these weeks are broken down into three stages
depending on the clinical symptoms present.
But we also talked about a few modifying factors.
A modifying factor can be anything
that makes these three stages difficult
to tell apart because the symptoms are milder
and the transmission rate is lower.
So, one of these factors was previous
infection with a disease.
So, let's say that the dad of the family here
was infected with Pertussis a few years ago,
and his body, like yours or mine, would mount
an immune response by making antibodies against Pertussis.
These antibodies are like specialized tags
that attach specifically onto the Pertussis bacteria
and proteins produces and flags them for destruction.
Once that clears the infection, he's left with a level
of Pertussis antibodies in his body for a long time after.
So, let's give him an antibody badge here
to remember that he has immunity against Pertussis.
This means that if he's reinfected with Pertussis
his immune system is ready or primed for the infection
and can fight it more quickly
so he becomes less contagious because
he kills the disease faster,
and the classically clinical symptoms
of the disease become milder or may not occur at all.
Now is a good time to bring in the rest
of the family to discuss another
modifying factor which is vaccine history.
Vaccines are like training with practice runs
so that you'll be able to handle the marathon
meaning let's say that grandpa
had a Pertussis vaccine recently.
The vaccine causes his body to produce antibodies
against the bacteria and proteins a lot
like a true infection would
but this way if he's ever exposed
to a natural Pertussis infection
or in the analogy, a marathon,
his body's primed to fight just like dad's.
So, he has an antibody badge too.
But there are a few Pertussis vaccines out there
and they vary in their components that make up the vaccine
even though they have all the same goal
of generating antibodies against Pertussis.
So starting with the whole cell Pertussis vaccine.
Sometimes this is abbreviated WP for whole cell Pertussis.
It contains the entire dead Pertussis bacteria
with the majority of its proteins.
Then it's given in a series of four vaccines
between two months and fifteen years old.
And while this series if about seventy and ninety percent
effective in preventing a serious Pertussis infection
it also had a high incident rate of discomfort
at the injection site and mild
Pertussis-like symptoms following the vaccine.
Seeing that it's (mumbling) it's been phased out
and it's been replaced by acellular Pertussis vaccine
or abbreviated A for acellular Pertussis.
These vaccines contain just pieces of Pertussis bacteria
and some of the proteins and protein-based toxins
made by the bacteria that we discussed previously.
Which proteins and toxins are in a particular vaccine
depend on the manufacturer.
And there are two vaccines that fall
under this acellular category.
They're both given with diphtheria tetanus
which is why they have a D and a T appearing in their names.
They're DTaP and Tdap, and there are
a few differences between the two vaccines.
To start with, this capital P instead of a lowercase p here
represents a higher dose of Pertussis in the DTaP vaccine.
This higher dose is given in a series
of five vaccines at two, four, and six months,
and some are between fifteen and eighteen months,
and then again between four and six years old.
This series is eighty to eighty five percent effective
in preventing a serious Pertussis infection
but it has less side effects
than the whole cell Pertussis vaccine.
It's important to know that neither natural exposure
nor any vaccine will give a person
a hundred percent immunity to Pertussis.
This is because over time antibody levels
in the body drop to a point where they're,
they aren't as protective.
So, to avoid this from happening there's the Tdap.
Tdap is a booster that should be
received every five to ten years
and the last infection or vaccination.
I like to think of the boosters as,
like, our refresher course.
You take a refresher course when
you've already studied some material on point
but you need to see it again to jog your memory.
Booster does the same thing.
Grandpa may have had a Pertussis infection
when he was younger but the booster's needed
to refresh his body's memory against Pertussis
and bump up his antibody levels
which tend to fall throughout the years.
Everyone should take care to get a booster on time
but there are some groups who should be extra careful.
Those who have underlying respiratory disease,
those who are amino-compromised,
or let's say grandma is a healthcare worker
and since immunizing can help prevent the spread
of Pertussis from one person to another,
she should take care to be vaccinated.
And really anyone in this family should be vaccinated
'cause they're gonna be around an infant
that they don't want to infect.
Lastly, expecting moms at twenty seven
to thirty six weeks at each of their pregnancy
you should get the Dtap because the antibodies
that mom produces in response can
be passed along to the baby.
Then when the baby is born the baby will
have some protective passive immunity
to Pertussis until he or she can receive
the first Pertussis vaccine at two months.
Outbreaks for Pertussis are on the rise
and though there is a school of thought
that Pertussis bacteria is mutated making
the available vaccines less efficient
it's largely due to children not getting vaccinated
and adults not receiving their boosters.
So, this makes transmission of the infection high
and symptoms and complications from infections more severe.