Epidemiology The human parainfluenza viruses are ubiquitous, with a worldwide geographic distribution. , Their transmission is principally by large-particle fomites via close person-to-person contact. Parainfluenza virus activity displays both endemic and epidemic patterns, with each serotype preferring different age groups…
Pertussis is an acute respiratory tract infection that was well described in the 1500s and endemic in Europe by the 1600s; its current worldwide prevalence is dampened only by continuous use of active immunization. Sydenham first used the term pertussis…
Optimal evaluation of patients with prolonged, recurring, or periodic fever requires extensive review of signs and symptoms to establish the onset and cardinal features of illness, to define the exact fever pattern, and to understand the context of illness within…
INTRODUCTION History of Disease Pertussis (whooping cough) is a bacterial respiratory infection caused by Bordetella pertussis, a Gram-negative bacillus. Its major manifestation is a protracted cough that lasts many weeks, marked by characteristic intense paroxysms that often terminate in an…
The combining of multiple antigens into a single vaccine is not a new concept; combination vaccines have long been a bedrock of immunization programs. Since the early 1990s, we have transitioned from a world in which DTP (diphtheria, tetanus, and…