No. 1 killer of U.S. babies is whooping cough, which takes a heavier toll than scarlet fever, diphtheria, measles and infantile paralysis combined. Last week, doctors at the American Medical Association meeting in Atlantic City heard reports on 1) a new way to prevent the disease in newborn infants; 2) the serious mental effects of whooping cough.
Prenatal Vaccination. Newborn infants have a natural immunity to many infectious diseases, but they cannot be vaccinated against whooping cough before the age of seven months. Apparent reason: their bodies are incapable of producing the antibodies.
Drs. Philip Cohen and Samuel Jerome Scadron of Manhattan told...