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A Study of Whooping Cough Through the 1940s The 1940s was the beginning of the end for pertussis. Both preventions and many new treatments were discovered that both eased the symptoms of the disease and sped up recovery time. In the beginning of the century a vaccine became available to prevent the disease. The 1940s saw pertussis lose its death grip on the young American children, a fact evidenced by the dearth of reports on the disease after 1949. In present-day America there are less than 4,000 reported cases of whooping cough each year and even fewer deaths, thanks to immunization. Before the vaccine was discovered, however, at least 200,000 cases of pertussis were reported every year, many of which resulted in death. Pertussis is the disease more commonly known as Whooping cough. It is caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis. In the twentieth century, whooping cough was a common childhood disease and one of the leading causes of childhood mortality. The symptoms of pertussis include sneezing, fever, and of course, coughing. A person infected with pertussis experiences numerous and rapid coughing fits in an attempt to expel mucus from the bronchial tubes. These coughing fits are then followed by a rapid intake of air which produces a ‘whoop” noise that gives the disease its common name. The fits and the rapid air intake are especially violent for babies and young children and accounts for the deaths of the children. A study done by Dr. Louis A. Laurie found that children who had whooping cough before the age of two and who managed to survive still suffered ill effects.
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