Also known as pertussis, whooping cough is a contagious infection of the respiratory system. It is caused by bacteria and transmitted through direct contact with an infected person's respiratory secretions. Early symptoms of whooping cough are often similar to those seen with the flu but then progress to severe coughing spells characterized by a "whooping" sound when the person inhales. Treatment generally involves antibiotics and supportive care.
Before the vaccine was developed, whooping cough was considered a childhood disease. Now whooping cough primarily affects children too young to have completed the full course of vaccinations and teenagers and adults whose immunity has faded.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 5,000 to 7,000 cases are reported in the United States each year. Moreover, whooping cough has been increasingly reported among adolescents and adults in the last several years. This is important because those who have a cough may not realize that they have pertussis and may be the primary source of infection for infants, who have the greatest risk of dying from the disease.
Deaths associated with whooping cough are rare but most commonly occur in infants. That's why it's so important for pregnant women — and other people who will have close contact with an infant — to be vaccinated against whooping cough.
There are many different symptoms of pertussis, which is a disease more commonly referred to as whooping cough. Babies, younger children, and certain elderly people are especially prone to this deadly infection. The bacteria called bordetella pertussis is responsible for this disease which is spread through the air, or through the infected person's sputum. Common symptoms are similar to flu and cold signs, and are often mistaken for them.
The people who are susceptible to this infection are those who have a low resistance to infection. The common cold is usually confused with this disease because the early symptoms of pertussis are identical. These symptoms can appear after five to 20 days after getting the infection, and they include signs such as the flu, cough, colds, sore throats along with a fever, general feeling of being unwell, loss of appetite, vomiting at the end of a bout of coughing, and watery eyes. The pertussis disease can affect anyone, including infants, children or adults.
Runny nose, nasal congestion, sneezing, coughing, and low grade fever is the first stage of the common cold, and pertussis. After that, it enters into remission, just as pertussis does, and then it moves into the second stage. This stage includes severe coughing attacks. If not cured, it enters into the third stage after six to 10 weeks of the second stage, where the coughing spells become shorter and less intense. These symptoms of pertussis are easily seen and when they do occur, a medical provider should be visited.
Every 10 years an adult should be re-vaccinated because even though children are vaccinated, their immunity wears off over time. Whooping cough vaccines do not guarantee lifelong immunity. If a cough is present for more than two weeks, or other symptoms of pertussis are noticed, the doctor will examine the lungs. Any signs of this disease will require a throat examination, involving a test to check the sputum for bacteria, in order for it to be officially diagnosed.
Each year about three hundred thousand people die from this disease, especially children under twelve months of age that contract this disease. Whooping cough can only be treated with a few different methods. One of them is the use of antibiotics, and the other is by immunization. Some of the most common of these prescriptions drugs are erythromycin, azithromycin and clarithromycin. Tetanus and diphtheria immunizations are combined and given to patients with whooping cough, as well as to infants between the ages of two and six months and toddlers between four and six years old. These sets of boosters help the immune system fight off the pertussis disease, along with other common deadly diseases
To prevent dehydration, the patient is given plenty of fluids to drink like water, soup, fruits, and juices. The patient that has symptoms of pertussis is isolated from other people because it is a highly contagious disease. Hospital treatment is needed for babies with whooping cough because they often vomit after coughing, and in this case, they need to be feed through tubes. Pertussis is a disease that can kill its victims, and it cannot be cured naturally.
The cause of whooping cough (also known as pertussis) is a bacterial infection. The bacterium that is responsible for the disease is called Bordetella pertussis (B. pertussis).
A person can become infected with B. pertussis bacteria through direct contact with contaminated droplets. This can occur when he or she breathes in tiny droplets released into the air by an infected person's cough or sneeze, or when someone touches a recently infected surface and then touches his or her own mouth, nose, or eyes.
Once inside the airways, B. pertussis bacteria produce toxins that interfere with the respiratory tract's normal ability to eliminate germs. The bacteria also produce chemicals that cause inflammation, damaging the lining of the breathing passages.
The pertussis virus was once nearly eradicated in the US after vaccinations became a standard part of well-child examinations.
Recently, however, whooping cough has made somewhat of a comeback because some parents refuse to have their children vaccinated for the illness. Also, those who come to the US illegally may not have received whooping cough vaccinations and may carry the disease into the country, exposing those with either poor immune systems or who have not been vaccinated.
The most at-risk population in the US is infants who have not completed their vaccinations. Whooping cough is very contagious, and unvaccinated infants and children have a 90% chance of contracting the illness if they are in contact with other children who are ill, or if they live in a home where someone gets whooping cough.
Complications in infants who have whooping cough can be especially severe. They include pneumonia, seizures, encephalitis, bleeding in the eyes, and possibly death. With such risks, many wonder why some parents would choose not to vaccinate their children.
Some children cannot be vaccinated because of previous life-threatening reactions to vaccinations. In some cases, parents believe that vaccinations may be indicated in the development of autism. The medical community in Europe and the US has found that there is no medical evidence supporting this claim. Onset of autism tends to occur at about two years, when children frequently receive their last booster shot, called a DPT (diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus).
Many physicians and parents criticize the decision of some parents to not vaccinate their children, since children who get diseases like whooping cough are more apt to pass them on to people with compromised immune systems or to infants. Those who support vaccinations feel that parents who do not vaccinate their children put others at risk unnecessarily, including the lives of children who can't be vaccinated for medical reasons. This is a very difficult and oft-disputed issue by both parents and pediatricians.
If you suspect your child has developed whooping cough it is important to see a doctor immediately. Especially in newborns the disease can cause periods of apnea, or breath holding, instead of the whooping cough associated with the disease. Also, be certain to inform the pediatrician that you suspect whooping cough as they may have protocols they need you to follow to protect other children in their office from contagion.
Whooping cough treatments will generally include antibiotics and typically, the earlier antibiotics are begun, the better. Babies and really young children may be treated by being admitted to the hospital. Breathing treatments and intravenous fluids may also be used as whooping cough treatments while in a hospital setting.
Whooping cough treatments will generally center around antibiotics. The earlier antibiotics are given to a person with whooping cough, the quicker the infection may be cured. In addition, early antibiotic treatment may also reduce the spreading of this respiratory infection. Often, individuals with whooping cough will take antibiotics for several weeks. This is generally because the infection can last for several weeks.
Even though coughing is the main symptom of this respiratory infection, it is important to note that cough medicines are not included in whooping cough remedies. They seem to do little to alleviate the intense coughing spells. For this reason, physicians generally dissuade patients from using such medicines.
Whooping cough treatments can also include inpatient hospitalization. In fact, whooping cough in babies is commonly treated in this manner. This may be done to lower the chances of serious whooping cough complications such as pneumonia. If breathing has been affected by the repeated coughing spells, hospitalization may also allow close supervision of breathing and the opportunity to provide breathing treatments if needed. In addition, if a person is at risk of becoming dehydrated because he or she is unable to drink enough due coughing, intravenous fluids may also be part of hospitalized treatment.
It may be difficult to sleep with whooping cough. For this reason, whooping cough treatments will sometimes include sedatives. Typically, sedatives will be incorporated into a treatment plan to help a person with whooping cough sleep. Doctors will generally be very informative about how to take the sedatives. For the well-being of the patient, it will be important to use the medicines directly as the doctor prescribes them.
A vaccine to combat whooping cough, also known as pertussis, was developed in the 1940s to combat the deadly disease. Before that point, whooping cough was a leading cause of severe illness and death in young children. Immunization via the whooping cough vaccination is now a standard for infants, and inoculation against pertussis is generally combined with vaccines for diseases such as diphtheria and tetanus.
The whooping cough vaccination is no different than other immunization techniques, in the sense that it has been refined and improved over the years. The original diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis injection (DTP) was eventually replaced with a new whooping cough vaccination. This version still contained protection against diphtheria and tetanus, but included only the acelluar parts of the whooping cough vaccine needed to fight the bacterial infection. The injection came to be known as the diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis vaccine (DTaP).
Children are given five injections of the DTaP vaccine, with the first administered at the age of two months. Booster shots are then provided at the age of four months, six months, 18 months, and four to six years. In 2005, a further improvement was made to the whooping cough vaccination. A one-time inoculation given to adolescents any time between ages 11 and 18 (Tdap) offers higher degrees of protection against tetanus but contains reduced amounts of the diphtheria and acellular pertussis bacteria.
The whooping cough vaccination is regarded as a crucial inoculation for infants and children, and is recommended by health organizations such as the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). The need for the vaccination cannot be stressed strongly enough, as whooping cough is an extremely contagious infection of the respiratory tract. It is spread through the air, and people without protection can easily contract the disease. Although children are most susceptible, whooping cough is a danger to adults who either did not complete a full course of vaccinations or who have lost a degree of immunity.
The whooping cough vaccination has proven to be very effective in stopping this childhood killer, however the shots do sometimes result in side effects such as fever, soreness, and extended bouts of crying in infants. For these reasons, and because there is a misconception among some segments of the general public that whooping cough had been wiped out, some people have decided to forgo the whooping cough vaccination. As a result, more and more new cases of whooping cough are seen each year.