Please view the Frontline special, "The Vaccine War" (Video, 56:34 mins) below.
The scenario:
A young mother rushes her four month old infant to the hospital emergency department and reports her infant gasping for air due to an asthma attack. An ED nurse evaluates the infant and questions the mother. The infant is cyanotic, irritable and experiencing a paroxysmal cough. The infant's temperature is taken and noted as 103.8°F. The mother reveals the infant has been experiencing a cough and congestion for two weeks or more. The infant was born at home and has not been seen by a family practitioner or pediatrician to date. The infant has been exposed to neighborhood children ill with a mild cough. Chest x-rays are taken and blood samples are analyzed. The laboratory results indicate a highly elevated leukocyte count. Pronounced pneumonia is evident in the radiograph. In your post address the following:
- Explain (and justify) to the infant's mother that this is not an asthma attack and identify the likely infectious agent.
- Explain that this is a vaccine-preventable disease and explain how vaccines prevent disease.