Whooping Cough Through the 1940s
The 1940s was the beginning of the end for pertussis. ... 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. ... Pertussis is the disease more commonly known as Whooping cough. ... In the twentieth century, whooping cough was a common childhood disease and one of the leading causes of childhood mortality. ... Laurie found that children who had whooping cough before the age of two and who managed to survive still suffered ill effects. ... ” 1 Laurie believed that such an early case of whooping cough produced “organic lesions” in the brain, which were responsible for the developmental problems. Methods of treating the disease in the 1940s included exposure to gas vapor, raising levels of vitamin A and providing doses of streptomycin and aureomycin. ... Citizens had noticed that the air around the gas works had a soothing effect on those suffering from whopping cough. ... These are held in the sand portion of the aluminum earth the gas has passed through. ... Vitamin A was found to be very valuable in fighting whooping cough by Dr.