Whooping cough (pertussis) , formerly known as whooping cough, is an acute infectious disease of the respiratory tract caused byBortedella pertussisinfection . Whooping cough is a disease caused by many types of toxins produced by these bacteria and is usually fever-free. The most important symptom of whooping cough is a very severe, paroxysmal, chroniccoughusually accompanied byshortnessof breath and inspiratory wheezing known as “foaming,” or vomiting at the end of a coughing attack. Whooping cough is most dangerous for newborns and young infants, but the elderly are also seriously ill. You can get sick at any age and have the disease several times in your life.

How can you get whooping cough?

The source of pertussis infection are patients – both children with full-blown disease, as well as adolescents and adults, whose disease may be mild and uncharacteristic or mildly symptomatic. The greatest contagiousness occurs in the first two weeks of the disease and lasts for about 3-4 weeks, with appropriate antibiotic therapy shortening the contagiousness to 5 days. Importantly, there is no carrier of whooping cough bacilli, so you cannot get infected from completely healthy people. Whooping cough is very contagious, even more so thanchicken pox. The risk of a susceptible person falling ill after contact with a sick person exceeds 80%. The infection is transmitted through droplets when coughing and sneezing, and also through direct contact, although in this case the contagiousness is much lower.

How is whooping cough?

The hatching period of whooping cough is 7-10 days, rarely lasting up to 3 weeks. The disease is long-term and protracted. The cough lasts for three or more months, usually getting worse at night. The symptoms of whooping cough depend on the patient’s age and immunization status, which means that in adults who have been repeatedly vaccinated against whooping cough during childhood, whooping cough usually progresses in a mild, non-specific form. Often, the only symptom of whooping cough in adults is a chronic cough that gets worse in the evening and lasts for several months. This symptom may be underestimated or attributed to other causes and ill people do not use the help of doctors, and then for several weeks they are a source of infection for people with whom they have contact: colleagues, friends and families, including infants and young children. Whooping cough has phases that vary in symptoms. Children have three phases of whooping cough, while adults usually only have two phases.

1. The first, catarrhal phaseof whooping cough is practically indistinguishable from a severecold. It is characterized by symptoms typical of respiratory infections: dry cough, runny nose, low-grade fever, sore throat and pharyngitis. These symptoms persist for 1-2 weeks.
2. Coughing attack phase– lasts 2–4 weeks. Symptoms in this phase vary depending on the patient’s age and immunization status. Infants are dominated by attacks of breathlessness, watery eyes, facial flushing,cyanosisandapnea. Severe apnea may be the only symptom of the disease in the youngest infants. In older children, typical coughing attacks gradually increase in frequency and intensity, reaching several dozen attacks a day in unvaccinated children. Emotions, eating, sneezing, yawning and sleep can be factors that trigger a seizure. In adults, the only symptom of whooping cough may be a chronic dry cough, which usually gets worse at night and gradually lessens over time.
3. Recovery phase. In this phase, the frequency and intensity of coughing attacks gradually decrease, but the cough itself may be very long-lasting. Dry cough, classically intensifying at night, gradually gets milder and lasts for a few to several weeks. Coughing attacks are provoked by a variety of irritants, including emotions and changes in temperature. The cause of chronic cough is damage to the respiratory tract by bacterial toxins, so once the mucosa has been damaged by pertussis toxins, treatment with antibiotics does not alleviate the clinical symptoms, although it kills the bacteria.

What are the complications of whooping cough?

Complications of whooping cough depend on the age and immunization status of the patient. For infants, whooping cough is a very dangerous disease that threatens with severe complications and even death.

Common complications include bacterialpneumonia,usually caused by pneumococcal superinfection, and otitis media. Lung damage (atelectasis,bronchiectasis) may occur. The most dangerous complication is pertussis brain damage (encephalopathy), which manifests itself in seizures,impaired consciousness, paresis and damage to the cranial nerves, leading to permanent disability. The older the child and the more doses of pertussis vaccine, the milder the disease becomes. The popular belief that whooping cough is only a disease of young children is incorrect. In adults, especially in the elderly, frequent complications of whooping cough are sleep disturbances caused by chronic cough,urinary incontinence, weight loss,inguinal herniaand, rarely, even ribfracturesor bleeding into the brain (stroke).

How is whooping cough treated?

In the acute catarrhal stage of whooping cough, treatment with an appropriate antibiotic may inhibit the progression of the disease. In the developed phase of coughing, the antibiotic only shortens the contagious period, but has no effect on the symptoms and course of the disease. We know that a person with whooping cough ceases to be infectious after 5 days of proper antibiotic treatment. Unfortunately, there are no drugs proven to alleviate whooping cough in advanced stages of the disease.

How can you prevent whooping cough?

Pertussis prevention consists in regular immunization. Whooping cough is such a serious disease for babies that whooping cough immunization is widely used in almost all babies worldwide. The first pertussis vaccines that contained whole killed pertussis (DTPw whole cell vaccines) were developed in the late 1940s. They have been used in Poland since the 1950s. Due to the relatively high incidence of adverse vaccination reactions following whole cell vaccines, much better tolerated acellular vaccines containing individual purified pertussis antigens (DTPa) were developed in the 1980s. In developed countries (Western Europe, USA, Canada, Japan) acellular vaccines have quickly replaced whole cell vaccines. Widespread immunization has managed to control the disease in infants but has not completely eradicated whooping cough. Unfortunately, vaccination protection is incomplete. This is because whooping cough is a toxin disease. The production of specific antibodies thanks to immunological memory is already overdue even after 1-2 days and does not prevent toxins from damaging the respiratory tract. For the same reason, the natural disease of whooping cough also provides an unstable immunity that passes within 5-10 years of onset when the concentration of toxin-neutralizing antibodies becomes too low. This means that 5-10 years after the last dose, vaccinations taken in the past still protect against severe pertussis, but usually do not protect against infection and mild disease, which can be manifested, for example, by a chronic dry cough itself. We know that people with incomplete vaccinations usually get sick and that the risk of the disease increases with time after the last dose of the vaccine.

According to the current preventive vaccination program, compulsory vaccination against whooping cough includes three doses of the primary vaccination in the first six months of life (from 2 months of age) and two booster doses (16–18 months and at 6 years of age). Whole cell vaccine (DTPw) can be used up to the age of 3. Cell-free vaccines are available for use in the primary immunization of young children, but they are for a fee. At the age of 6, children receive the DTPa cell-free vaccine. Tdap vaccine with a reduced content of pertussis antigens and diphtheria toxoid is intended for adolescents and adults, which is used in Poland as part of paid recommended vaccinations.

The current epidemiological situation of whooping cough in Poland

Before the introduction of universal vaccinations, whooping cough was a very common and dangerous infectious disease in childhood in Poland. Even in the 1950s, the incidence of whooping cough was very high and 1,000–1400 deaths from the disease were reported annually. Introduce universal vaccination against whooping cough (using a combined trivalent whole cell vaccine againstdiphtheria,tetanusand whooping cough – DTPw) greatly improved this unfavorable situation. In the 1960s, the number of whooping cough cases decreased to a very low level. This favorable epidemiological situation continued until the end of the 1980s. Then, despite the high percentage of vaccinated children, the incidence of whooping cough increased again, with the incidence shifting to older adolescents and adults. A similar trend was also observed in other European countries and the United States. The reasons for this increase in morbidity are unknown. The vaccines that have been used so far have probably helped protect infants against severe whooping cough, but they do not protect adults against pertussis infection and mild forms of the disease. Untreated adult patients infect those around them. We know that 10–15 years after contracting whooping cough it is possible to get sick again. We are currently observing a marked increase in the number of whooping cough cases in Poland. The highest incidence is among childhood vaccinated people, who are now 10–20 years old. In 2012, over 4.5 thousand cases were reported, three times more than in the previous year. These unfavorable trends are explained by the gradual disappearance of acquired immunity (including that acquired after natural illness), demographic changes (fewer children), as well as better laboratory diagnosis of the disease. 5 thousand cases, three times more than in the previous year. These unfavorable trends are explained by the gradual disappearance of acquired immunity (including that acquired after natural illness), demographic changes (fewer children), as well as better laboratory diagnosis of the disease. 5,000 cases, three times more than in the previous year. These unfavorable trends are explained by the gradual disappearance of acquired immunity (including that acquired after natural illness), demographic changes (fewer children), as well as better laboratory diagnosis of the disease.

When Is Whooping Cough Suspected?

Whooping cough should be suspected in the case of a cough that persists for more than 7 days, and especially when the cough lasts longer, becomes more intense at night, and is paroxysmal in nature. The longer the cough lasts, the more likely it is to be caused by a whooping cough infection. In the initial stage, whooping cough is indistinguishable from viral infections of the upper respiratory tract – unless you experience typical coughing attacks ending in “drowsiness” or vomiting, you will probably not think about whooping cough. It is worth remembering that the clinical picture of whooping cough in adolescents and adults may be significantly alleviated compared to that in infants. Whooping cough can be a chronic cough without other symptoms, chronic inflammation of the upper respiratory tract with mild cough,bronchitis with persistent and exhausting cough and, less frequently, in the form of pneumonia. Coughing attacks may recur during colds or under the influence of irritants.

Whooping Cough FAQ

what does whooping cough sound like

Pertussis, more commonly known as whooping cough, is an extremely contagious infection of the respiratory tract. It is characterized by a strong hacking cough, which is then followed by a whooping-sounding (sound like whoop ), high-pitched intake of breath in many people.

what causes whooping cough

Whooping cough, or pertussis, is a respiratory infection that is caused by a kind of bacteria known as Bordetella pertussis. It is a highly contagious disease that can spread from person to person. These bacteria join themselves to the cilia, which are minute extensions that resemble hair and line a portion of the upper respiratory system.

what is the whooping cough vaccine called

DTaP vaccine : Whooping cough, diphtheria, and tetanus are all diseases that can be prevented with the DTaP vaccine (for infants and children) Whooping cough, diphtheria, and tetanus are all diseases that can be prevented with the dTap vaccine.

what are the 3 stages of whooping cough

The sickness can be broken down into three distinct stages:

• the catarrhal,
• paroxysmal,
• convalescent stages.

The duration of the infectious stage of pertussis ranges from 7 to 10 days.

what are the symptoms of whooping cough

The initial signs and symptoms of whooping cough are comparable to those of the common cold and include a runny nose, red and watery eyes, a painful throat, and a temperature that is slightly higher than normal. After approximately a week, I started having intense attacks of coughing. The episodes often last no more than a few minutes at a time and seem to occur more frequently during the night.

Symptoms: Sneeze