Medical Community Reacts to Whooping Cough Increase

By HealthNewsDigest.com

Many Americans think of whooping cough as a disease that has been all but eradicated through immunizations. Contrary to this belief, whooping cough, also called pertussis, is making a comeback.

Just last week, the Centers for Disease Control and prevention (CDC) reported that the United States was likely to experience the worst year for whooping cough in more than five decades. The CDC has identified New Jersey as one of 18 states with a whooping cough outbreak.

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Whooping cough is defined as a serious, contagious disease, which often requires hospitalization. It is caused by a bacterium and most often attacks the upper respiratory tract after entering the nose or throat. Whooping cough can lead to pneumonia, seizures, brain damage, and sometimes death. It can be transmitted by direct contact or through the air.

“Persons of any age can get pertussis, however, young infants are at greatest danger of getting the disease and suffer the most serious complications,” says Timothy S. Yeh, MD, Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at Saint Barnabas Medical Center.

Dr. Yeh stresses that it is very important that infants are given the pertussis vaccine on time. In addition, The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) continues to recommend vaccination of adolescents, including pregnant adolescents. Pregnant women should also receive the vaccine. A single dose should be given to adults who have contact with infants, even if they are older than 65, and for health care workers of any age.

Whooping cough often acts like a common cold for a week or two. Then the cough gets worse, and the child may start to have the characteristic “whoops.” This phase may last two weeks or more and the child may develop difficulty breathing. Dr. Yeh explains that infants with pertussis may not “whoop” but will have prolonged coughing episodes with shortness of breath and bluish color change around the mouth. 

Infants in particular may become exhausted and develop complications from whooping cough, such as respiratory failure and susceptibility to other infections. Pertussis can be fatal in infants, but the usual course is for recovery to begin after two to four more weeks. The cough may not disappear for months and may return with subsequent respiratory infections.

The AAP advises parents to consider the possibility of whooping cough and seek medical attention if the following conditions are present:
The child is a young infant who has not been fully immunized and/or has had exposure to someone with a chronic cough or the disease.
The child’s cough becomes severe and frequent, or her lips and fingertips become dark or blue.
· The child becomes exhausted after coughing episodes, eats poorly, vomits after coughing and/or looks “sick.”

“A physician should test for whooping cough when a child exhibit symptoms compatible with the disease or develops a cough after exposure to someone who has been diagnosed,” adds Dr. Yeh.