Danger level: High
What is it?
Pertussis is an infectious disease characterized mainly by coughing.
Who gets it?
The disease appears mostly in children: About 50% happen before age 10. About 30% happen in the ages 10-19, and only the remaining 25% or so happen after age 20.
Most cases occur in the months June-September.
It’s important to remember that the vaccine against pertussis provides protection against it, and therefore is very important (we’ll talk about avoiding the disease later).
What causes it?
Pertussis is caused by a germ called Bordetella Pertussis. It’s mostly transferred to children from adults or adolescents carrying the germ. The disease is spread through the air from sick people.
A child with a cough. The disease is transmitted through the air.
How does it feel?
The disease has 3 stages:
Stage 1: After infection, the germ lies around in the airways for about 7-14 days, after which the disease begins. At this stage, it will look like the common cold, with coughing, sneezing, tearing and a runny nose. Usually there’s no fever.
At that stage, the disease is most infectious.
Stage 2: After a few more days, the cough changes to a cough special to this disease, which is called a Whooping cough. It’s characterized by coughing that sounds like a machine gun: there are 5 or more coughs that come one after the other, fast. Right after this machine-gun-cough comes a whoop – which is the sound made when the child breathes in to gain breath.
Here are some examples:
This stage is also characterized by vomiting.
Stage 3: This happens within 4 weeks of the beginning. It’s characterized by a chronic cough, which may last for weeks.
How is it discovered?
The doctor will take a specimen from the nose or throat, which will be searched for the germ in a library.
How is it treated?
If the child is still an infant, usually hospitalization will be required. Whether the patient is admitted to the hospital or stays at home, they should be isolated from their surroundings, because the disease is very infectious.
The treatment for pertussis is antibiotics, as well as drugs that might help with the airways (like the ones used in asthma). Sometimes, in more serious cases, the child may have to be artificially respirated,
What happens after treatment?
Usually, with treatment patients recover completely and the disease goes away completely. It’s important to remember, though, that infants younger than 6 month can develop complications such as pneumonia, seizures and others. The disease can also lead to death if untreated.
The bottom line: How do I avoid it?
There is a vaccine that prevents pertussis. It’s usually given to babies at 2, 4 and 6 months, with additional vaccinations given at 15 months and again at 4-6 years. Reported cases of the diseases has gone down 99% since the vaccine was first given.
The vaccine isn’t given only to children. Since the vaccine only lasts for about 10-12 years, adults should be sometimes vaccinated as well. Consult your doctor for this.
People who were in contact with someone sick with pertussis should be treated with antibiotics, whether they were vaccinated or not.
Now it’s your turn. Have you encountered pertussis? Share your story in the comments.
What next?
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