Category Archives: Pertussis

Waning pertussis immunity in England/Wales, and bad reporting in Australia A new study has come out from the UK, assessing the case for the National Health Service adding an adolescent booster of the pertussis vaccine to the schedule. I’m sure … Continue reading →

Posted on June 26, 2014 by kill3rtcell | 1 Comment

Whooping cough bacterium loses expression of a key vaccine target

Posted on April 23, 2014 by kill3rtcell

This post is a discussion of the April 2014 study showing Australian pertussis bacteria to be losing expression of the vaccine target pertactin. The post describing the evidence that the pertussis vaccine does not increase susceptibility to parapertussis is here. … Continue reading →

Posted in acellular pertussis, Acellular pertussis vaccine, Bordetella pertussis, Pertactin, Pertussis, Pertussis immunisation, Pertussis vaccination, Vaccination, waning immunity, waning pertussis immunity, Whooping cough, whooping cough immunisation, whooping cough vaccine | 4 Comments

‘Vaccine resistant’ pertussis – in a way, yes. In a more accurate way, no.

Posted on February 24, 2013 by kill3rtcell

This post is a discussion of the February 2013 report from Philadelphia that the pertussis bacterium may be losing expression of the vaccine target protein pertactin, and the implications of such a loss. A discussion of the April 2014 paper that found most … Continue reading →

Posted in acellular pertussis, Acellular pertussis vaccine, Bordetella pertussis, Pertussis, Pertussis immunisation, Pertussis vaccination, Vaccination, waning immunity, waning pertussis immunity, Whooping cough, whooping cough immunisation, whooping cough vaccine | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

The whooping cough vaccine – doesn’t increase your odds of getting any kind of whooping cough

Posted on October 4, 2012 by kill3rtcell

The Bordetella species of bacteria Bordetella pertussis and Bordetella parapertussis cause whooping cough in humans. B. pertussis – the bigger cousin – produces more severe symptoms more frequently, and for longer. In fact, while pertussis infection has an estimated 1/125 fatality rate in infants … Continue reading →

Posted in acellular pertussis, Acellular pertussis vaccine, Bordetella parapertussis, Bordetella pertussis, Pertussis, Pertussis immunisation, Pertussis vaccination, Vaccination, whooping cough immunisation, whooping cough vaccine | 5 Comments

Whooping cough vaccination, pertussis and parapertussis: forty times more likely to be misunderstood?

Posted on October 3, 2012 by kill3rtcell

Two Bordetella species of bacteria regularly cause the disease known as whooping cough in humans, Bordetella pertussis and Bordetella parapertussis. Of the two, B. pertussis causes much more severe disease, with a rate of about 1 fatality per 125 cases … Continue reading →

Posted in acellular pertussis, Acellular pertussis vaccine, Australian Vaccination Network, Australian Vaccination Skeptics Network, AVSN, Bordetella parapertussis, Bordetella pertussis, Pertussis, Pertussis immunisation, Pertussis vaccination, Vaccination, Whooping cough, whooping cough immunisation, whooping cough vaccine | 4 Comments

Here’s that booster shot I promised…

Posted on April 19, 2012 by kill3rtcell

Just a quick follow up from the last post. Here’s that booster shot I said I’d get. While waiting the required 15 minutes before leaving my local community health centre I read the package insert, and I can tell you … Continue reading →

Posted in Pertussis, Vaccination | 1 Comment

Has Whooping Cough Evolved Around The Current Vaccine? Reflections On The (Then) Current Scientific Evidence

Posted on April 8, 2012 by kill3rtcell

Before reading this post be aware that as of April 2014 we now know that Australian strains of B. pertussis have largely lost expression of the protein whose variation is a key feature of this piece. An explanation of that study … Continue reading →

Posted in Australian Vaccination Network, Pertussis, Vaccination | 18 Comments