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Pertussis (Whooping Cough)

What is Pertussis?

Pertussis, or whooping cough, is a highly contagious, possibly deadly infection, characterized by severe coughing spells. It is one of the leading causes of vaccine-preventable deaths world-wide. Pertussis is mostly seen in children but can affect all ages, and is especially dangerous for babies. More than 60% of babies (or 3 out of 5) with pertussis are hospitalized, and more than 90% of deaths from pertussis are babies younger than 4 months old. Some complications of pertussis include pneumonia, ear infections, dehydration, brief periods without breathing, disorders of the brain, seizures, and death.

History. Before vaccines, about 200,000 people had pertussis every year, with more than 90% being children under 10 years old. After vaccines became available in the 1940s, the occurrence of pertussis fell by 99%. Between 2000 and 2004, there was an average of 2,500 cases of pertussis.

Signs and Symptoms. At first, pertussis seems like the common cold with a runny nose, sneezing, fever, and a cough. After 1-2 weeks, people have severe, short coughs that sound like a machine gun. Cough spells may end with a high-pitched “whoop” sound when the person tries to breathe in and are more common at night. People may gag on mucus and “gunk” that comes up with coughing and sometimes even throw up from all the coughing. Coughing attacks can continue to last from weeks-months after being treated for pertussis.

Transmission. Pertussis is spread by the coughing and sneezing of infected people. The greatest spread of the infection is from family members, especially mothers, to infants.

Treatment. Hospitalization is generally required and antibiotics are given to prevent the spread of pertussis to others. Antibiotics can shorten how long a person has pertussis but it usually doesn’t change the effect of the disease.

Pertussis Today. Recently there has been an increase in the number of pertussis cases. In 2005, there were 25,000 reported cases! This increase could be due to infants and children not being immunized or to adolescents and adults not receiving pertussis booster shots.

The best prevention of pertussis is to receive the immunization. The childhood vaccine is called DTap and the booster vaccine is called Tdap, both protect against whooping cough, tetanus, and diphtheria.

Educational Video!!!!

“What Every Parent Needs To Know: Protecting Your Baby From Pertussis (Whooping Cough)” features the testimonials of 4 mothers from across the U.S. whose babies contracted pertussis, paired with a physician expert. This tool aims to educate parents that one of the best ways to protect their babies from contracting pertussis is to make sure that they, and all of their infant’s close contacts, are vaccinated.

http://www.doitforyourbaby.com/pertussisvideo/pvideo.htm