(April 26, 2012 - Phoenix, AZ) -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 urgently 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 Tuesday 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.

"The vaccines we have today are the most effective means ever known to man for preventing the outbreak of infectious diseases," says Dr. Arturo Gonzalez, AzAAP board president. "Unfortunately," he added, "the full immunization rate in Arizona stands at approximately 76 percent, far below the 92 percent rate needed to fully prevent an outbreak."

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 over double the number of cases reported in 2009.

Dr. Amy Shoptaugh, a Tempe pediatrician and AzAAP board member, says, "By reaching a high enough vaccine rate in the community and obtaining immunity, many deaths can be prevented and the rate of contracting the disease can be lowered." The pediatrician is co-chair of the Chapter's Pediatric Council, which has been leading a statewide effort for the last five years to educate the public, insurance companies, fellow pediatricians and the Arizona Legislature about the importance of immunizations.

Dr. Shoptaugh is currently treating a family of five children, ages three to 12-years-old, for whooping cough. "The initial illness was most likely acquired from the mother. Pertussis is highly contagious, almost as contagious as measles and it has a high prevalence in household members." And she notes that while the family was being treated, she had to quarantine three of her staff members.

Dr. Shoptaugh points out that children usually acquire this disease from adults so she recommends that before bringing home a newborn, all adults and siblings should be immunized against pertussis to prevent exposure.  In addition, she recommends that babies receive doses of the vaccine beginning at age two months, followed by doses at four and six months.

AzAAP notes that outbreaks of childhood infectious diseases can pose serious public health threats and cost the public hundreds of thousands of dollars or more, per incident. However, the likelihood of such incidents can be dramatically reduced with the combination of quality pediatric health care and sound public policy. 

One study showed that those parents who refused vaccines had a 23-fold higher risk for contracting whooping cough (pertussis), when compared with those receiving vaccinations.

"Immunization refusal rates have doubled," Dr. Gonzalez added, noting that parents refuse to vaccinate their children for a variety of reasons, including religious objections, moral grounds, or concerns over side-effects, though he dismissed widely-held concerns over secondary health concerns as repeatedly proven to have no basis in scientific fact.

What it comes down to, Dr. Gonzalez stated, is that the actions of a few people are putting everyone in the community at risk.