PKIDS launches ‘Silence the Sounds of Pertussis’ campaign

December 2007

SAN FRANCISCO — Parents of Kids with Infectious Diseases recently announced the launch of their national educational campaign, “Silence the Sounds of Pertussis.”

With the help of new mom and actress Keri Russell, PKIDS intends to spread the word and increase awareness of pertussis by encouraging parents to talk with their physician about vaccination against the disease.

“The hope is that I may reach more people by using my familiarity to get the word out about vaccination against pertussis,” Keri Russell, spokesperson for the campaign, told Infectious Diseases in Children during an interview at the 2007 American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference and Exhibition, held here. “The bottom line is that parents would do anything to protect their baby, and it is such a miniscule thing [to get a vaccine]. What we are trying to do with this campaign is encourage parents to talk to their physician.”

“Physicians should recognize that the most common vector for transmission of pertussis to infants are the adult caregivers of these infants,” Gary L. Freed, MD, director of the division of general pediatrics at the University of Michigan medical school, Ann Arbor, and the chair of the National Vaccine Advisory Committee, told Infectious Diseases in Children.

“We play an important role in transmitting health care information to both fellow physicians and parents. Physician involvement in these types of campaigns is important to be able to raise awareness in both of these communities,” he said.

According to the director of PKIDS, Trish Parnell, research has shown that half of all infants who contract pertussis were exposed by their parents, and 90% of unvaccinated children living with someone who has the disease may become infected.

“Some major points that registered to me as a mom are that adults can walk around with pertussis for months and just have a cough, but when infants get it, they may actually die from it. The other really big thing for me was that more than half of the cases in infants are caused by their parents or an immediate family member,” Russell said.

ACIP’s recommendation

“The [Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’] recent recommendation suggests for adults and caregivers of children to be immunized against pertussis, which will then prevent transmission to young infants,” Freed said.

According to the ACIP, infants and children should receive five doses of the diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and acellular pertussis vaccine. One dose should be administered at ages 2 months, 4 months, 6 months, 15 to 18 months and the final dose at 4 to 6 years.

Immunization with a single dose of the tetanus-diphtheria toxoids vaccine is then recommended for those aged 11 to 18 years who have previously received the recommended TDaP vaccine series; for people aged 19 to 64 years, a single dose of TDaP replaces a single dose of tetanus and diphtheria toxoids for booster immunization; adults in close contact with an infant aged younger than 12 months should receive a dose of TDaP; and health care workers with direct patient contact should receive a dose of TDaP.

“When providing care for newborns and infants, physicians should ask the parents if they have received the TDaP booster. Internists and gynecologists should also ask their patients who have infants at home whether or not they have received the booster and provide it if they have not,” Freed said. “Adult immunization will not only provide protection to the adults, but more importantly to the infants for whom they are providing care.”

For more information on pertussis, visit www.pkids.org.