Whooping Cough from Vaccine

It is possible that the contents in the pertussis vaccine could have induced the symptoms of pertussis in your daughter. Pertussis vaccines contain components of the three disease-causing antigens: pertussis toxin (PT), filamentous hemagglutinin (FHA), and pertactin. Whole cell pertussis vaccines contain the active form of all three antigens. The antigens in the acellular pertussis vaccine have been chemically inactived with formaldehyde.

The most severe symptoms of whooping cough are caused by the PT antigen. Even though you are uncertain which vaccine was given to your daughter, she could have: a) received a large dose of PT antigen if given the whole cell; b) received PT antigen that was not completely inactived. In either instance, there is a possibility that the pertussis symptoms could have been caused by the vaccine.

The other possibility is that that your daughter actually contracted pertussis from the vaccine if the vaccine was contaminated with the bacteria that causes pertussis, B. pertussis. Even though this may be “highly unlikely,” that is not the same as “impossible.” Contamination has happened in other vaccines.
For example, last year, 48 million doses of flu vaccine were scrapped after the lots were found to be contaminated with the bacteria, Serratia marcescens (Washington Post Foreign Service, October 9, 2004; Page A01). In addition, a rabies vaccine for humans was recalled in the United States and 23 other countries because a live strain of the virus was found in different lots made at the same time. (Orlando Sentinel, April 8, 2004). Ensuring that all of the active viruses and/or bacteria have been removed from a vaccine is virtually impossible.

As for the development of seizures after vaccination, pertussis toxin (PT) is also known to itself be a neurotoxin. For a good review on complications associated with the pertussis vaccine, see The Story of Whole-Cell DPT by Dr. Mark Geier and David Geier found at http://www.attorneyaccess.net/AppF.pdf