UMDNJ Experts Available to Discuss Pertussis (Whooping Cough)
Newswise — Experts at the UMDNJ-New Jersey and Robert Wood Johnson Medical Schools are available to provide comment on the dangers of pertussis, also known as whooping cough.
A study just published in the journal Pediatrics found that unvaccinated children were 23 times more likely to develop pertussis than children who received the full recommended course of immunizations. According to the CDC, pertussis is a highly contagious and potentially fatal disease. The number of cases in the United States has risen dramatically since the 1980's.
UMDNJ experts available to speak about this important health issue include:
- Dr. Peter Wenger, the medical director for Project Vaccinate, an immunization case management and community action initiative directed through the Newark Department of Child and Family Well-Being. Dr. Wenger is also an associate professor of Preventive Medicine and Community Health, and of Pediatrics, at UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School.
- Dr. Patricia Whitley-Williams, FAAP, the division chief and professor of pediatrics at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. Her professional affiliations include: Fellow, American Academy of Pediatrics, Infectious Disease Society of America, Pediatric Infectious Disease Society of America and the National Medical Association.
- Dr. Sunanda Gaur, a professor of pediatrics and Director of the Pediatric Clinical Research Center at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. Her professional organizations include the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Pediatric Infectious Disease Society, Infectious Disease Society of America and the American Association of Physicians from India.
The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) is the nation's largest free-standing public health sciences university with nearly 5,700 students attending the state's three medical schools, its only dental school, a graduate school of biomedical sciences, a school of health related professions, a school of nursing and its only school of public health on five campuses. Annually, there are more than two million patient visits at UMDNJ facilities and faculty practices at campuses in Newark, New Brunswick/Piscataway, Scotch Plains, Camden and Stratford. UMDNJ operates University Hospital, a Level I Trauma Center in Newark, and University Behavioral HealthCare, a statewide mental health and addiction services network.
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