Pertussis
Also known as whooping cough, pertussis is highly contagious and can result in prolonged coughing spells that may last for many weeks or even months. Approximately 50 out of every 10,000 people who develop pertussis die from the disease. Ninety-percent of pertussis-associated deaths have been among babies less than one year old.
In the first two days children have mild respiratory infection symptoms such as coughing, sneezing, and runny nose. After one to two weeks, the cough increases followed by the typical "whooping" sound as the child desperately tries to catch their breath between coughs. Coughing fits may be followed by vomiting due to the sheer violence of the cough. In severe cases, the vomiting induced by the coughing fits can lead to malnutrition and dehydration. These coughing fits can last one to two months. Pneumonia, encephalitis, pulmonary hypertension, and secondary bacterial super infections can also result from this disease. In children, the cough can become so severe that the child cannot breathe.
In adults the disease often presents itself just as a bad cold with symptoms that are milder, such as a prolonged cough without the other classic symptoms of pertussis. Since most adults won't recognize that they have pertussis, it is not unusual for an adult in the family to be the one to pass on pertussis to vulnerable children.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that following the introduction of the vaccine for pertussis in the mid-1940s, pertussis incidence declined to an all-time low of 1,010 cases by 1976. But even though we have an effective vaccine, many children fail to receive all four doses, and remain vulnerable to the disease. During a pertussis outbreak, children who have received all of their pertussis vaccinations are six times less likely to become infected than those who have never been vaccinated.
Today, pertussis is the only vaccine preventable disease that is on the rise in the U.S. Parents can do their part to protect the youngest children by getting themselves immunized with the Tdap vaccine and encouraging family members and caregivers to attain Tdap vaccine. Children should receive five doses of Tdap, at ages 2, 4, 6, 15-18 months and 4-6 years.
Related links:
- Send an eCard about Pertussis Vaccination
- Download Pertussis Posters from ECBT
- Pertussis: What You Should Know
- Recommendations for Healthcare Worker Vaccination
- Recommendations for Postpartum Vaccination of Mothers
- CDC Updates to the Pertussis Vaccine Webpage