Whooping cough (aka pertussis) is a highly contagious bacterial disease.

• Initially, similar to common cold:
  • Runny nose
  • Fever
  • Mild cough
• Followed by weeks of severe coughing fits. Following a coughing fit, a high-pitched inspiratory "whoop" sound may occur. The cough can alast for more than 100 days (i.e. 10 weeks). The Pt may cough so hard they:
  • Vomit
  • Break ribs
  • Become fatigued from the effort

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Kids<1yo may have little or no cough, and instead have apnea (i.e. periods where they don't breathe)

• Caused by bacteria B. pertussis
• It is an airborne disease, which spreads easily through the coughs and sneezes of an infected individual
• Pt's are infectious from the start of Sx until about 3 weeks into the coughing fits. Those who are Tx with antibiotics are no longer infectious after 5 days

• Collecting a nasopharyngeal swab (i.e. sample from the back of the nose and throat), and tested by either culture or PCR

• Prevention, by vaccination with the pertussis vaccine, where if disease does occur Sx are typically milder. Initial immunization is at 7 weeks of age, with 4 doses to be given in the first 2 years of life. The vaccine is less effective over time, so boosters are recomended for older children or adults
• Antibiotics, including erythromycin, azithromycin or sulfamethoxazole. It can be used:
  • To prevent the disease among those exposed, or at risk of severe disease
  • Tx, useful if started within 3 weeks of initial Sx, but otherwise have little effect in most Pt's. Kids<1yo and pregnant women are recommended wihtin 6 weeks of Sx onset
• Sx relief of cough is unsupported

• Kids<1yo require hospitalization

• The period between infection and onset of Sx is usually 7-10 days
• Pertussis affects 16m people worldwide per annum
• Most cases occur in the devloping world
• Persons of all ages can be affected
• It resulsts in 61k deaths per year
• 2% of infected children <1yo die
• Notifiable disease