Pertussis is caused by

Overview Whooping cough (pertussis) is a highly contagious respiratory tract infection. In many people, it's marked by a severe hacking cough followed by a high-pitched intake of breath that sounds like "whoop." 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. Symptoms Once you become infected with whooping cough, it takes about seven to 10 days for signs and symptoms to appear, though it can sometimes take longer. They're usually mild at first and resemble those of a common cold: • Runny nose • Nasal congestion • Red, watery eyes • Fever • Cough After a week or two, signs and symptoms worsen. Thick mucus accumulates inside your airways, causing uncontrollable coughing. Severe and prolonged coughing attacks may: • Provoke vomiting • Result in a red or blue face • Cause extreme fatigue • End with a high-pitched "whoop" sound during the next breath of air However, many people don't develop the characteristic whoop. Sometimes, a persistent hacking cough is the only sign that an adolescent or adult has whooping cough. Infants may not cough at all. Instead, they may struggle to breathe, or they may even temporarily stop breathing. When to see a doctor Call your doctor if prolonged coughing spells cause you or your child to: • Vomit • Turn red or blue • Seem to be struggling to breathe or ...

• Dipesh P Gopal , academic clinical fellow 1, • John Barber , National Medical Director’s clinical fellow 2, • Daniel Toeg , general practitioner 3 • 1Centre for Primary Care and Public Health, Barts and The London School of Medicine & Dentistry, London E1 2AB, UK • 2Research Department of Primary Care and Population Health, University College London Medical School (Royal Free Campus), London NW3 2PF, UK • 3Caversham Group Practice, London NW5 2UP, UK • Correspondence to: D P Gopal d.gopalqmul.ac.uk What you need to know • Suspect pertussis in patients with 2 weeks of cough and coughing paroxysms, post-tussive vomiting, inspiratory whooping, no fever, or exposure to a person with confirmed pertussis • Immunisation is no guarantee of protection as vaccine efficacy decreases with time • Antibiotics within the first 21 days of illness can prevent transmission, but cough is likely to last up to three months and there are no recommended treatments for it • Consider admission if patient is clinically unwell or less than 6 months old, when mortality is higher • Report suspected and confirmed cases of pertussis to local public health agencies to initiate infection control measures • Offer pertussis vaccination to pregnant women in the second or third trimesters of pregnancy as it can provide passive immunity to neonates and young infants Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, is caused by the Gram negative bacterium Bordetella pertussis. 1 It is transmitted via airborne droplet...

Pertussis vaccines protect babies, children and adults from a respiratory disease called whooping cough. Whooping cough causes uncontrollable, violent coughing fits. In babies, it can cause severe complications. All infants, children and adults should get a vaccine to protect against whooping cough. What is a pertussis vaccine? Pertussis vaccines protect people from a respiratory disease called Bordetella pertussis cause whooping cough. Whooping cough leads to Why is the whooping cough vaccine important? The vaccine protects people, especially babies, from catching pertussis. Whooping cough can be very dangerous for infants. Babies with whooping cough may develop Because whooping cough starts with mild, cold-like symptoms, many people don’t know they have the infection right away. Without vaccination, people may easily spread whooping cough to others during early infection stages. What are the types of whooping cough vaccines? There are two types of whooping cough vaccines. Both vaccines protect people from multiple diseases: • DTaP vaccines (Daptacel®, Quadracel® and Vaxelis®) protect children under age 7 from • Tdap vaccines (Adacel® and Boostrix®) are “booster” shots to protect preteens, teens and adults from tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis. Who should get a pertussis vaccine? Experts recommend that everyone get the pertussis, tetanus and diphtheria vaccine. Babies and young children get the DTaP vaccine in a series of five shots. They get these shots at: • 2 months. ...

×Top Health Categories • Coronavirus Disease COVID-19 • Gastrointestinal Health • Artificial Intelligence • Heart Disease • Mpox • High Blood Pressure • Allergies • Lung Cancer • Alzheimer's & Dementia • Mental Health • Arthritis & Rheumatology • Pregnancy • Breast Cancer • Type 1 Diabetes • Cold, Flu & Cough • Type 2 Diabetes • Diet & Nutrition • Sexual Health • Eating Disorders • Sleep • Eye Health • By Dr. Chinta Sidharthan Jun 9 2023 Reviewed by In a recent study published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases, researchers compared two methods of half-life estimation to evaluate the half-life of maternal antibodies present in infants against pertussis induced by tetanus, diphtheria, acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccine administered to mothers during pregnancy. Study: Half-life estimation of pertussis-specific maternal antibodies in (pre)term infants after in-pregnancy tetanus, diphtheria, acellular pertussis vaccination. Image Credit:RossHelen/Shutterstock.com Background Whooping cough or pertussis is a bacterial respiratory disease caused by Bordetella pertussis. The infection is highly contagious, and the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates from 2018 reported over 150,000 However, these estimates are believed to be an underestimation, and studies show that the true burden of pertussis in infants is close to five million, with close to 86,000 deaths among infants below the age of one. In many countries, the Tdap vaccine has been introduced as an immunization optio...