Pertussis or whooping cough is a communicable infection triggered by Bordetella pertussis which causes episodes of coughing that usually end in a prolonged, high-pitched, deep indrawn breath.
One can develop pertussis at any age but most cases affect children younger than 5 years old as well as infants younger than 6 months. The condition is quite serious among children younger than 2 years and most recorded deaths occur among children younger than 6 months. Most deaths are caused by pneumonia and complications that affect the brain. The condition is also serious among older individuals.
A single attack of the condition will not always guarantee lifelong immunity, but a second attack if one occurs is usually mild and not even recognized as pertussis. Actually, some adults who have walking pneumonia have pertussis. An infected individual spreads the bacteria into the air as droplets of moisture by coughing. Anyone close by might inhale these droplets and become infected. Remember that pertussis is not contagious after the 3rd week of the infection.
Indications of pertussis
The condition starts about 1-2 weeks after being exposed. It can last for 6-10 weeks progressing into 3 phases:
- Mild cold-like symptoms – includes runny nose, sneezing, appetite loss, hacking cough at night, listlessness, malaise. There is also hoarseness but fever is considered rare.
- Coughing fits – these develop after 10 or 14 days. These fits usually include 5 or more swiftly successive powerful coughs trailed by the whoop. After an episode, the breathing is normal but another episode occurs right after. The cough often produces substantial amounts of dense mucus. Among young children, vomiting often occurs after an extended episode of coughing. As for infants, choking episodes and gaps in breathing occur which causes the skin to become bluish.
Some children develop pneumonia which results to difficulty breathing. Even ear infections also develop. In rare cases, pertussis affects the brain among infants. Swelling, bleeding or inflammation of the brain can result to seizures, brain damage, confusion and intellectual disability.
After a span of several weeks, the coughing fits steadily subside but children have a lingering, persistent cough that lasts for weeks or even months. Many children are able to recover fully but in a slow manner.
Prevention
Children are normally inoculated against pertussis. The pertussis vaccine is mixed with vaccinations for tetanus and diphtheria for children below 7 years old. Take note that the immunity from the vaccine reduces 5-10 years after the last dose was given.