Get kids vaccinated.

Byline: The Register-Guard

An 11-month-old child has died in Oregon of pertussis, underlining the fact that the state is losing ground against this largely preventable disease. It was the first pertussis death in Oregon in three years, and it comes at the time when reported cases are increasing - particularly in Lane County. For the safety of their children and the children of others, parents must understand the importance of keeping vaccinations up to date.

Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, used to be quite common, with hundreds of thousands of cases each year. A vaccine approved in 1949 succeeded in making the disease rare - by the 1990s, Oregon averaged fewer than 100 cases a year. But the state has already reported 106 cases in 2003, and 70 percent of those have been in Lane County.

Among adults, pertussis is not a particularly serious disease - many grown-ups have had a case without knowing it, mistaking the illness for a long-lasting cold. Among infants and children, however, pertussis can have serious complications such as pneumonia and seizures. In 1 or 2 cases out of 1,000, it's fatal.

Vaccination is recommended for infants at ages 2 months, 4 months and 6 months, with boosters at 15 or 18 months and before enrolling in school. The vaccine does not confer immunity in all cases, nor is immunity permanent. The vaccine's primary benefit is that it vastly improves children's chances of growing to an age at which pertussis longer causes serious health problems. Yet only 78 percent of Oregon 2-year-olds are vaccinated. Only nine states have lower immunization rates.

The pertussis vaccine is usually combined with vaccines against diphtheria and tetanus - the DPT shot. Some parents have opted to skip the pertussis component because of possible side effects that include fever. A new vaccine, however, uses an attenuated strain of the pertussis bacterium that causes far fewer side effects.

Because of the spike in pertussis cases, people in Lane County need to take precautions. People who have a cough lasting more than a week should see a doctor. Anyone exposed to someone with the disease should consult a physician about the possibility of preventive antibiotic treatment. Those who have the disease or who have been exposed should avoid contact with others, especially infants and young children, until they are no longer infectious.

Because of the nature of the disease, pertussis is likely to always be present to some degree. Its presence can be vastly reduced, however, through vaccination. Such a reduction can prevent serious illness, and even death, among those most vulnerable.