Pediatrician lists whooping cough as leading cause of child mortality

A Pediatrician with the Enugu State Teaching Hospital, Parklane, Dr. Ikenna Nwokoye, on Monday identified whooping cough as one of the leading causes of death in children under five years.
Nwokoye told the News Agency of Nigeria in Enugu on Monday that whooping cough was caused by a bacteria called Bordethella Pertussis.
He said: “Generally, in our environment, vaccine preventable diseases are among the leading causes of death among children under the age of five-years, but if children are vaccinated early and accordingly, they will not contact it.
“Some of the vaccine preventable diseases are whooping cough, measles, tuberculosis, diphtheria and others.”
Nwokoye said the vaccine should be best given to children at the six, 10 and 14 weeks of birth, while the booster doses would be given to adults as is done in the developed countries.
He said that immunity vaccines given to children could lose its potency after three to five years, adding that booster doses of the vaccines should be administered when the former had diminished to build up their immunity again.
The doctor said that the booster dose should be given to the adults so that they would not transfer the disease to children around them.
Nwokoye listed some of the complications of the ailments to include fracture of the ribs, hernia, seizure of breath in severe cases and might stop the patient from breathing for a while.
He said that Microlyth drugs like Erythromycin could be effective in combating the disease.
He explained that apart from the treatment, children with the disease should be given supportive care, be well managed, stimulated and sustained due to the severity of the disease.