Main description:

Outbreak in the Village is a fascinating account of the personal and professional journey of Dr. Doug Jenkinson, physician and researcher. Over the course of four decades in practice, Jenkinson traces the reemergence of whooping cough in the developed world, using his practice in the idyllic English countryside as a clinical control group. Keeping meticulous notes and indulging an itch to investigate, he explores one of history's most enigmatic and pervasive diseases.
Jenkinson relates the tale of his life's work amid winsome anecdotes, relevant history, and practical advice. Told in an amiable, engaging voice with an expert balance of levity and earnestness, this story will charm casual readers interested in medical history and memoir, as well as doctors and researchers who identify with the experiences and may benefit from the research and techniques employed. Readers will find themselves in the examination room beside Jenkinson as the investigation unfolds, learning about the nature of the illness and the sweeping detrimental effects of an anti-vaccination campaign.
An intriguing memoir about a mysterious illness, a public health failure, and one doctor's quest for clarity, Outbreak in the Village is a tale of perseverance and objectivity sure to delight and inform.

Contents:

Introduction
From Africa to England
The children's clinic at Keyworth
Whooping cough vaccine
1977-9. The first outbreak of whooping cough
Does the vaccine work?
1981. Whooping cough vaccine is very rarely harmful
1981-3. The second outbreak. How many cases are there really?
1985-7. The third outbreak. The search for subclinical infection
1987. Does the effectiveness of the vaccine wear off?
1988. Trying to raise the uptake of pertussis vaccine
1989-91. The fourth outbreak. The natural history of whooping cough
1990s. Whooping cough fades away but new diagnostic tests emerge
2000. Whoopingcough.net. Overcoming diagnostic paralysis
The early noughties. The new tests aid the re-discovery of whooping cough
Late noughties. 'Resurgence' of whooping cough in the USA and Australia puts the UK on alert
2012. Whooping cough diagnoses peak in the UK but remain unchanged in Keyworth
What lies ahead?
Epilogue

About Bordetella bacteria

Age incidence changes in Keyworth whooping cough patients

A critical look at recent pertussis statistics in England