Vaccination: with New tetanus, Diphtheria and Pertussis Vacc

CDC Media Relations
Vaccination: with New Tetanus, Diphtheria and Pertussis Vacc
Wed Nov 16, 2005 19:41

*Press Release*
November 9, 2005Contact: CDC Media Relations
Phone: (404) 639-3286
http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/pressrel/r051109.htm

Advisory Committee on Immunization Practice Recommends Adult Vaccination
with New Tetanus, Diphtheria and Pertussis Vaccine (Tdap)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory
Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) at its recent meeting
(October 26 and 27) in Atlanta, voted to recommend that adults from 19
to 64 years of age be vaccinated with a newly licensed adult booster
tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine (Tdap).

Under the ACIP recommendation, the Tdap vaccine would replace the
currently recommended tetanus-diphtheria vaccine that is used as the
adult booster vaccine. The new vaccine helps protect adults from
pertussis, an illness with severe and prolonged cough. It also reduces
the risk of transmitting pertussis to infants.

The ACIP recommended that adults receive a booster dose of Tdap vaccine
against tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis if they have not received a
tetanus and diphtheria (Td) booster dose in ten or more years. Adults
should receive a single dose of Tdap to replace a single dose of Td.
Pertussis affects an estimated 600,000 adults every year, aged 20 to 64
years, and can result in weeks of coughing, cracked ribs from severe
coughing spells, pneumonia, and other complications.

Tdap should also be given to adults who will have close contact with an
infant less than 12 months of age, ideally at least one month before
beginning close contact with infants. In situations when it is important
to protect against pertussis, intervals shorter than 10 years since the
last Td vaccination may be used. A 2-year interval between Td and Tdap
is suggested to reduce the risk of reactions following vaccination.

“Infants less than 12 months of age have a high risk of
pertussis-related complications, hospitalizations and death. Vaccinating
adult contacts may reduce the risk of transmitting pertussis to infants”
said Dr. Steve Cochi, acting director of CDC’s National Immunization
Program. “Although pertussis is most serious in infants, it can also be
serious in adults. Even adults who don’t typically come in contact with
young children should be vaccinated.”

In June, the ACIP recommended that adolescents 11 and 12 years of age be
given Tdap in place of the tetanus-diphtheria (Td) booster typically
given to adolescents. The committee also recommended that Tdap be given
to adolescents 13 through 18 who missed the 11 to 12 year dose of Td.
Adolescents 11 to 18 who have already been vaccinated with Td are
encouraged to receive a dose of Tdap at intervals shorter than 10 years,
to add protection against pertussis.
Most reported pertussis cases among adolescents and adults occur because
of decline in protective immunity over time. Immunity against pertussis
wanes five to ten years after the last childhood vaccination.
Infants acquire pertussis, often from siblings and parents at home, when
they are still too young to be vaccinated against the infection, or when
not yet vaccinated. ACIP recommends that children be vaccinated against
diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis at two, four, six, and 15 to 18 months
of age, and at four to six years of age. DTaP is the vaccine used for
children under 7 years of age.

“Pertussis can be very severe in infants. It is important that parents
vaccinate their infants and children on time to prevent this serious and
potentially life-threatening disease,” said Cochi.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently licensed two Tdap
vaccines for adolescents and adults in the United States. BOOSTRIX®,
manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals, was licensed by the FDA on
May 3, 2005, for use in adolescents 10 through 18 years of age. The
second, ADACEL™, manufactured by sanofi pasteur, was licensed on June
10, 2005, for persons 11 through 64 years of age. These are the first
pertussis vaccines licensed for use in adolescents and adults.

Reported pertussis cases increased throughout the 1990s and increases
have continued to the present. Cases of pertussis were reduced by more
than 90 percent following introduction of diphtheria, tetanus and
pertussis (DTP) vaccine in the 1940s. Reported pertussis cases have
increased from a low of 1,020 cases in 1976 to 25,827 cases in 2004, a
40-year high. Reported pertussis-related deaths among infants increased
from about ten per year in the 1990s to about 20 per year during this
decade.

For more information on pertussis visit www.cdc.gov/nip/diseases/pertussis .

Opinions expressed on this email loop are not necessarily
endorsed by MCC-FHC, but are shared with list members
because of their educational or informational content.
=======================================================
BioGerminator@aol.com

THE PATRIOT ACT IS ABOUT TO BE MADE MUCH WORSE —URGENT MESSAGE, Wed Nov 16 20:19

Press Claims a 'Deal" was Struck - and Not a Good One —Cheryl Seal, Wed Nov 16 23:33