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• What Is It?        How does whooping cough sound?                                      Back
• Symptoms    
• Potential Complications
• How Is It Spread?
• Who Gets It?
• Treatment 
• Vaccine

Pertussis is a highly contagious bacterial infection that causes coughing and gagging with little or no fever. An infected person has cough episodes that may end in vomiting or cause a "whoop" sound when the person tries to breathe in. 
      (INFANT WITH PERSUSSIS, COURTESY OF THE CALIF. DEPT. OF HEALTH SERVICES and DR. J. CHERRY, UCLA)  Children under one year of age are the most vulnerable to the ravages of this disease which causes the death of over 300,000 children worldwide each year. 

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• Symptoms appear between 6 to 21 days (average 7-10) after exposure to the bacteria.
• The disease starts with cold symptoms: runny nose and cough. Sometime in the first 2 weeks, episodes of severe cough develop and that can last 1 to 2 months. The person may look and feel fairly healthy between these episodes.
• During bouts of cough, the lips and nails may turn blue for lack of air. Vomiting may occur after severe coughing spells.
• During the severe coughing stage, seizures or even death can occur, particularly in an infant.
• Immunized school children and adults have milder symptoms than young children.  

• Pertussis is most dangerous to children less than 1 year old. Complications for infants include pneumonia, convulsions, and in rare cases brain damage or death.
• Serious complications are less likely in older children and adults.                 top of page

How Is It Spread?

• Pertussis is spread through respiratory droplets when an infected person coughs, sneezes or talks.
• The greatest risk of spread is during the early stage when it appears to be a cold.
• Those treated with antibiotics are contagious until the first 5 days of appropriate antibiotic treatment have been completed.    

• Anyone who is exposed can get Pertussis.
• Unimmunized or inadequately immunized people are at higher risk for severe disease.
• Many cases occur in adults because protection from the vaccine lasts only 5 to 10 years after the last dose.                                                                                      top of page

• Who should be treated / given prophylaxis: 
• Persons with Pertussis should avoid contact with others until no longer contagious.
• Take your full course of antibiotic treatment.
• If you live with someone who has Pertussis or are in the same child care classroom with someone who has had Pertussis, you should take preventive antibiotics.

• The vaccine against Pertussis is included in the DTaP vaccine. Before age 7 children should get 5 doses of the this vaccine. These are usually given at 2, 4, 6, and 15-18 months* of age and 4 - 6 years of age. (*The 4^th dose may be given as early as 12 months of age. A 6th vaccination is now being required at age 12 and is the combination vaccine Tdap.
• A vaccine containing Tetanus, Diphtheria and acellular Pertussis antigens (Tdap) is now recommended for adolescents (≥12 yrs.) and adults to age 65, as a booster vaccine every 10 years.

CDC - Pertussis  info          Pertussis.com