Fièvre
29-03-10, 05:35 AM
On his site ( http://www.whoopingcough.net/index.htm ) Dr Doug Jenkinson writes :
There is currently discussion in the media about whooping cough making a comeback, particularly in adults. I think much of this is apparent rather than real. Recent research has shown that many adults with persistent coughs do indeed had whooping cough. This is not new information if the Keyworth study is representative. Looking for it is what is new.
Since immunization came in the 1950s, doctors have seen less and less whooping cough and modern doctors may never have seen a case, let alone heard the cough. I believe that much of the drop in notifications has simply been a reflection of the poorer diagnostic skills of modern doctors in respect to whooping cough. Now that some people are looking for it with more sophisticated tests such as PCR, blood antibody, and recently saliva antibody tests, they are finding it, but still notifications are very low, as the average doctor is still reluctant to diagnose it.
So although people are making a bit of a fuss about whooping cough right now, I don't think things have actually changed very much for 30 years (at least in the UK).
The crux of the issue is the number of cases diagnosed in Keyworth (1977 to 2008) compared with the rest of the country (for administrative purposes this is England and Wales). The figures show that national notifications have got less and less over the years, while the Keyworth figures have remained fairly constant (allowing for the 4 to 5 year cycles). On average, in Keyworth, we notify about 30 times as many cases as other doctors.
Keyworth News
Information on the Keyworth cases has been made available on this site in order for health care workers and epidemiologists to study the detail www.whoopingcough.net/keyworth (http://www.whoopingcough.net/keyworth/index.htm)
There is currently discussion in the media about whooping cough making a comeback, particularly in adults. I think much of this is apparent rather than real. Recent research has shown that many adults with persistent coughs do indeed had whooping cough. This is not new information if the Keyworth study is representative. Looking for it is what is new.
Since immunization came in the 1950s, doctors have seen less and less whooping cough and modern doctors may never have seen a case, let alone heard the cough. I believe that much of the drop in notifications has simply been a reflection of the poorer diagnostic skills of modern doctors in respect to whooping cough. Now that some people are looking for it with more sophisticated tests such as PCR, blood antibody, and recently saliva antibody tests, they are finding it, but still notifications are very low, as the average doctor is still reluctant to diagnose it.
So although people are making a bit of a fuss about whooping cough right now, I don't think things have actually changed very much for 30 years (at least in the UK).
The crux of the issue is the number of cases diagnosed in Keyworth (1977 to 2008) compared with the rest of the country (for administrative purposes this is England and Wales). The figures show that national notifications have got less and less over the years, while the Keyworth figures have remained fairly constant (allowing for the 4 to 5 year cycles). On average, in Keyworth, we notify about 30 times as many cases as other doctors.
Keyworth News
Information on the Keyworth cases has been made available on this site in order for health care workers and epidemiologists to study the detail www.whoopingcough.net/keyworth (http://www.whoopingcough.net/keyworth/index.htm)