With the recent death of an infant in Maricopa County from pertussis (whooping cough), the Arizona Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AzAAP) is renewing its plea for parents to not only immunize their children, but also make sure entire families are up to date on their vaccinations to protect newborns too young to receive immunizations.
Maricopa County Public Health announced recently its first recorded pertussis death in an infant since 2009. The infant was too young to be vaccinated and more than likely contracted the disease from an adult.
According to Maricopa County, in 2011, nearly 700 cases of whooping cough were reported including involving dozens of infants. This is a 41 percent increase over the previous year and more than double the number of cases reported in 2009.
