DPT vaccine In 2009, the journal "Pediatrics" concluded the largest risk among unvaccinated children was not the contraction of side effects, but rather the disease that the vaccination aims to protect against. DTP was licensed in 1949. DTaP and Tdap are both combined vaccines against diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis. The difference is in the dosage, with the upper case letters meaning higher quantity. DTaP (also DTPa and TDaP) is a combined vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis, in which the pertussis component is acellular. This is in contrast to whole-cell, inactivated DTP (aka DTwP). The acellular vaccine uses selected antigens of the
Riggs' disease Riggs himself. Riggs' disease Riggs' disease, also known as pyorrhea of a toothsocket or gingivitis expulsiva, is a historical term for periodontitis (gum disease), The condition was described as a purulent inflammation of the dental periosteum. It was named after American dentist John Mankey Riggs (1811–1885). Riggs' disease was said to produce the progressive necrosis of the alveoli and looseness of the teeth. The teeth may become very loose and fall out of the sockets. Mark Twain wrote briefly about Riggs' disease in his short essay, "Happy Memories of the Dental Chair", in which he claims to have been examined