Whooping Cough (Pertussis) | Michigan Medicine

Topic Overview

What is whooping cough?

Whooping cough (pertussis) is a disease that causes very severe coughing that may last for months. During bursts of violent coughing, you may make a noise that sounds like a “whoop” when you try to take a breath. You can cough so hard that you hurt a rib.

Whooping cough spreads easily from one person to another. Getting the pertussis vaccine can help you avoid the disease, make it less severe, and prevent you from spreading it to those who are at risk for more serious problems.

With good care, most people recover from whooping cough with no problems. But severe coughing spells can decrease the blood’s oxygen supply and lead to other problems, such as pneumonia. The illness can be dangerous in older adults and young children, especially babies who aren’t old enough to have had the pertussis vaccine.

What causes whooping cough?

Whooping cough is caused by bacteria that infect the top of the throat (pharynx). The bacteria bother the throat, which causes coughing.

When someone with whooping cough coughs, sneezes, or laughs, tiny drops of fluid holding the bacteria are put into the air. The bacteria can infect others when people breathe in the drops or get them on their hands and touch their mouth or nose. After the bacteria infect someone, symptoms appear about 7 to 14 days later.

What are the symptoms?

Symptoms of whooping cough may occur in three stages, especially in young children. Adults and older children may not follow this pattern of symptoms.

In stage 1, symptoms are like those of a cold:

• You sneeze and have a runny nose, a mild cough, watery eyes, and sometimes a mild fever.
• The symptoms last from several days to 2 weeks.
• This is when you are most likely to spread the disease.

In stage 2, the cold symptoms get better, but the cough gets worse.

• The cough goes from a mild, dry, hacking cough to a severe cough that you can’t control.
• You may cough so long and hard that you can’t breathe. When you can take a breath of air, it may make a whooping noise.
• After a coughing fit, you may vomit and feel very tired.
• Between coughing fits, you feel normal.
• Symptoms are most severe in this stage. They usually last 2 to 4 weeks or longer.

In stage 3, you still have symptoms, but you feel better and grow stronger.

• The cough may get louder.
• Coughing fits may happen off and on for weeks.
• Coughing fits may flare up if you get a cold or have a similar illness.
• This stage may last longer if you have never had the vaccine.

Adults and older children usually have milder symptoms than young children. How bad your symptoms are also depends on whether you’ve had the vaccine and how long ago it was.

Symptoms of whooping cough usually last 6 to 10 weeks, but they may last longer.

How is whooping cough diagnosed?

Your doctor will ask you about your symptoms and do a physical exam. To rule out other health problems, he or she may order tests such as a chest X-ray or blood tests.

It can sometimes be hard to diagnose whooping cough, because you may seem healthy between coughing episodes. Your doctor may take a sample of mucus from your nose and have it tested for the bacteria that cause whooping cough.

How is it treated?

Whooping cough is usually treated with antibiotics. These medicines make it less likely that you will spread the disease. Also, if you start taking the antibiotics when you first get whooping cough, the disease may not last as long. Family members and other close contacts may be prescribed antibiotics before they have any symptoms.

Babies, especially those younger than 4 months, usually are treated in the hospital. This allows the doctor to see how well the baby deals with and recovers from coughing spells. It also makes it easier for the baby to get extra oxygen and other care if needed.

To avoid spreading the illness:^{footnote 1}

• Children with whooping cough need to take antibiotics for at least 5 days before going back to day care or school. If your child didn’t take antibiotics, wait 21 days after the start of symptoms before sending your child to school or day care.
• Adults or teens with whooping cough need to take antibiotics for at least 5 days before being near young children or going to work at a school, a day care center, or a health facility.

If your child has whooping cough:

• Create a quiet, calm, restful environment.
• Control possible triggers of coughing, such as smoke, dust, sudden noises or lights, and changes in temperature.
• Give your child frequent, small sips of fluids and nutritious foods.
• Use a humidifier in your child’s room. But watch closely to see its effect. Sometimes humidity makes coughing spells worse, in which case it should be avoided.
• Have your child who is age 1 year or older lie on his or her side or stomach rather than on the back. If your baby is younger than 1 year old, talk to your baby’s doctor about the best way to position your child.

Many of these same tips will help if you’re an adult with whooping cough. Make sure you get enough fluids, avoid triggers like smoke and dust, and consider using a humidifier.

Over-the-counter medicines, such as cough syrups and antihistamines, don’t help with whooping cough.

How can you prevent whooping cough?

Making sure that you and your children are immunized against whooping cough is the best way to prevent it. Starting at age 2 months, children need a series of shots (called DTaP) to protect against whooping cough. A booster shot (called Tdap) is recommended at age 11 or 12 and for all teens and adults who never had a Tdap shot.

Because whooping cough symptoms can be mild in adults, you may not know that you have the illness. Without a Tdap shot, if you have whooping cough, you can spread whooping cough to a young infant or another person who isn’t protected and for whom the disease is much more dangerous.

You can get whooping cough more than one time, and you may get it years apart. But you will be less likely to get it again if you get the shots as recommended.

Washing your hands often and staying away from people who have a bad cough may also help you avoid getting the disease.

Whooping cough | NHS inform

Whooping cough, also called pertussis, is a highly contagious bacterial infection of the lungs and airways.

It causes repeated coughing bouts that can last for two to three months or more, and can make babies and young children in particular very ill.

Whooping cough is spread in the droplets of the coughs or sneezes of someone with the infection.

This page covers:

Symptoms

Who’s at risk

When to get medical advice

Treatment

Stopping the infection spreading

Vaccinations

Complications

Symptoms of whooping cough

The first symptoms of whooping cough are similar to those of a cold, such as a runny nose, red and watery eyes, a sore throat, and a slightly raised temperature.

Intense coughing bouts start about a week later.

• The bouts usually last a few minutes at a time and tend to be more common at night.
• Coughing usually brings up thick mucus and may be followed by vomiting.
• Between coughs, you or your child may gasp for breath – this may cause a “whoop” sound, although not everyone has this.
• The strain of coughing can cause the face to become very red, and there may be some slight bleeding under the skin or in the eyes.
• Young children can sometimes briefly turn blue (cyanosis) if they have trouble breathing – this often looks worse than it is and their breathing should start again quickly.
• In very young babies, the cough may not be particularly noticeable, but there may be brief periods where they stop breathing.

The bouts will eventually start to become less severe and less frequent over time, but it may be a few months before they stop completely.

Who’s at risk of whooping cough

Whooping cough can affect people of any age, including:

• babies and young children – young babies under six months of age are at a particularly increased risk of complications of whooping cough
• older children and adults – it tends to be less serious in these cases, but can still be unpleasant and frustrating
• people who’ve had whooping cough before – you’re not immune to whooping cough if you’ve had it before, although it tends to be less severe the second time around
• people vaccinated against whooping cough as a child – protection from the whooping cough vaccine tends to wear off after a few years

You can get whooping cough if you come into close contact with someone with the infection.

A person with whooping cough is infectious from about six days after they were infected – when they just have cold-like symptoms – until three weeks after the coughing bouts start.

Antibiotic treatment can reduce the length of time someone is infectious.

When to get medical advice

See your GP or call the NHS 24 ‘111’ if you or your child:

• have symptoms of whooping cough
• have had a cough for more than three weeks
• have a cough that is particularly severe or is getting worse

Call 999 or go to your nearest accident and emergency (A&E) department if you or your child:

• have significant breathing difficulties, such as long periods of breathlessness or choking, shallow breathing, periods where breathing stops, or dusky, blue skin 
• develop signs of serious complications of whooping cough, such as fits (seizures) or pneumonia

Treatment for whooping cough

Treatment for whooping cough depends on your age and how long you’ve had the infection.

• Children under six months who are very ill and people with severe symptoms will usually be admitted to hospital for treatment.
• People diagnosed during the first three weeks of infection may be prescribed antibiotics to take at home – these will help stop the infection spreading to others, but may not reduce the symptoms.
• People who’ve had whooping cough for more than three weeks won’t normally need any specific treatment, as they’re no longer contagious and antibiotics are unlikely to help.

While you’re recovering at home, it can help to get plenty of rest, drink lots of fluids, clean away mucus and sick from your or your child’s mouth, and take painkillers such as paracetamol or ibuprofen for a fever.

Avoid using cough medicines, as they’re not suitable for young children and are unlikely to be of much help.

Stopping the infection spreading

If you or your child are taking antibiotics for whooping cough, you need to be careful not to spread the infection to others.

• Stay away from nursery, school or work until five days from the start of antibiotic treatment or three weeks after the coughing bouts started (whichever is sooner).
• Cover your or your child’s mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing and sneezing.
• Dispose of used tissues immediately.
• Wash your and your child’s hands regularly with soap and water.

Other members of your household may also be given antibiotics and a dose of the whooping cough vaccine to stop them becoming infected.

Vaccinations for whooping cough

There are three routine vaccinations that can protect babies and children from whooping cough:

• the whooping cough vaccine in pregnancy – this can protect your baby during the first few weeks of life; the best time to have it is soon after the 16th week of your pregnancy
• the 5-in-1 vaccine – offered to babies at 8, 12 and 16 weeks of age
• the 4-in-1 pre-school booster – offered to children by 3 years and 4 months

These vaccines don’t offer lifelong protection from whooping cough, but they can help stop children getting it when they’re young and more vulnerable to the effects of the infection.

Older children and adults aren’t routinely vaccinated, except during pregnancy or a whooping cough outbreak.

Complications of whooping cough

Babies and young children under six months are usually most severely affected by whooping cough.

They’re at an increased risk of:

• dehydration
• breathing difficulties
• weight loss
• pneumonia – an infection of the lungs
• fits (seizures)
• kidney problems
• brain damage caused by a lack of oxygen reaching the brain
• death – although this is very rare

Older children and adults tend to be less severely affected, although they may experience problems caused by repeated coughing, such as nosebleeds, bruised ribs or a hernia.

Disease factsheet about pertussis

Pertussis is also known as whooping cough. It is a highly infectious bacterial disease involving the respiratory tract. It is caused by a bacterium (Bordetella pertussis or Bordetella Parapertussis ) that is found in the mouth, nose and throat of an infected person.  

Symptoms

Symptoms usually appear after 7 to 10 days after infection, but may also appear up to 21 days later. Initially, symptoms resemble those of a common cold, including sneezing, runny nose, low-grade fever and a mild cough.

Within two weeks, the cough becomes more severe and is characterised by episodes of numerous rapid coughs, followed by a crowing or high-pitched whoop. These episodes frequently end with the expulsion of a thick, clear mucous, often followed by vomiting. They initially occur at night and then become more frequent during the day and may recur for one to two months. In young infants the typical ‘whoop’ may never develop, and the coughing fits may be followed by brief periods when breathing stops. 
After this phase, the coughing fits become less frequent and less severe, and the infant gradually gets better although this can take up to three months.

Adolescents, adults, or partially immunised children generally have milder or atypical symptoms, so in these groups, in addition to very young infants, pertussis might be more difficult to diagnose.

Treatment

Supportive care following hospital admission is especially important for very young infants or older children with severe disease.

Antibiotic therapy is the treatment of choice for pertussis. However, in order to be effective, treatment must begin early in the course of disease, preferably within two weeks of onset. Antibiotic treatment can eradicate the bacteria from the nose and throat and limits the risk of it being passed on to others.

Complications

Complications of pertussis include pneumonia, middle ear infection, loss of appetite, dehydration, seizures, brain disorders, hernias, rib fractures, rectal prolapse, episodes of cessation of breathing. Severe cases can lead to death.

Fatalities caused by pertussis are most common in young infants, who die due to pneumonia or due to a lack of oxygen reaching the brain. Deaths are recorded every year in Europe, often are among infants who were too young to have been fully vaccinated. Less than one child in every thousand will die due to pertussis, however in many instances pertussis is not recognised as the cause of death, so it is possible that pertussis is responsible for a higher number of deaths than actually recorded. Almost all deaths recorded in Europe are in infants younger than three months. Between 2007 and 2012, an average of nine deaths per year were reported.

How common is pertussis in the EU?

Every year approximately 15–20 000 cases of pertussis are reported in the EU/EEA, with some countries reporting significantly more cases than others. It is difficult to compare the frequency of pertussis in different countries, because different methodologies for the diagnosis of pertussis are used. Also, cough due to pertussis is often not recognised as such. The number of cases of pertussis reported to ECDC has been increasing since 2011, reaching approximately 45 000 cases in 2012.

Ways to catch pertussis

Pertussis is primarily spread by breathing in droplets from the nose or throat of infected individuals. Pertussis can even be spread by an individual who has only a mild form of pertussis or by an individual who is asymptomatic.  Frequently, older siblings and parents who may be harbouring the bacteria bring the disease home and infect an infant in the household.

People most at risk

Pertussis can occur at any age. There is an increasing number of adults and adolescents who are diagnosed with pertussis. At present, the age groups with the most pertussis diagnoses are infants below one year of age, and adolescents between 10 and 20 years of age.

All those not vaccinated against pertussis with the recommended number of doses of vaccine are at risk, regardless of age.
Unlike diseases such as chicken pox (varicella) and measles, it is possible to have pertussis more than once during a lifetime, because the antibodies that are developed after infection do not last over time.

How to prevent pertussis

The most important way to prevent pertussis is through complete immunisation. The vaccine for pertussis is usually given in combination with diphtheria and tetanus (often in combination also with poliomyelitis, Haemophilus influenzae and hepatitis B). A primary course of three doses of DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, acellular pertussis) vaccine or DTwP (diphtheria, tetanus, whole-cell pertussis) vaccine is usually given between two and twelve months of age. A fourth dose is recommended at 11–24 months of age and another dose between three and six years of age.

There is considerable variation between national immunisation schedules in the timing of these doses. Some countries recommend boosters for adolescents, during pregnancy or soon after delivery. Vaccine schedules in EU/EEA countries can be compared using ECDC’s Vaccine Schedule.

Is the vaccine safe?

The vaccines that protect against pertussis are generally safe. Minor adverse reactions can include local redness and swelling. Reactions such as fever, drowsiness, agitation and loss of appetite may also occur. Most of these problems resolve themselves. Less frequently, other reactions can occur, such as high fever, persistent crying lasting more than three hours (less than five in 1 000 vaccinations), fainting, an unresponsive collapsed-like state, and convulsions (less than 1 in 10 000 vaccinations). Most of these reactions have no long-term consequences.

In recent years, most EU/EEA countries have replaced the whole-cell type of pertussis vaccine with the acellular type as it is associated with fewer side effects.

What to do if you think you might have pertussis or if you have been exposed to pertussis

If you think you have pertussis, you should seek medical attention and inform the clinic in advance to avoid infecting other clients. Cover your mouth and nose to reduce the risk of spreading the infection to others.

An individual with pertussis can be infectious for four to five weeks from the onset of the illness. Treatment with antibiotics such as erythromycin can shorten the contagious period and limits the risk of infection to other people. People who have or may have pertussis should stay away from young children and infants until properly treated. Treatment of people who are close contacts of people with pertussis is also an important part of prevention.

Pertussis: A Reemerging Infection – American Family Physician

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Pertussis (Whooping Cough) – Minnesota Dept. of Health

General information about pertussis, including symptoms, complications, tests, and treatment.

Download PDF version formatted for print:
Pertussis (Whooping Cough) (PDF)

On this page:
What is pertussis?
What are the symptoms of pertussis?
What are the complications of pertussis?
Who gets pertussis?
Is there a vaccine for pertussis?
Is there a lab test for pertussis?
How is pertussis spread?
When and for how long can a person spread pertussis?
Can pertussis be treated?
How can pertussis be prevented?

What is pertussis?

Pertussis, or whooping cough, is a disease that affects the lungs. Pertussis bacteria are spread from person to person through droplets produced during coughing or sneezing. A person with pertussis develops a severe cough that usually lasts four to six weeks or longer. Pertussis can be very serious, especially in infants.

What are the symptoms of pertussis?

The first symptoms of pertussis are similar to a cold: sneezing, a runny nose, possibly a low-grade fever, and a cough. After one or two weeks, the cough becomes severe, such as:

• The cough occurs in sudden, uncontrollable bursts where one cough follows the next without a break for breath.
• A high-pitched whooping sound occurs when breathing in after a coughing episode. Whooping is less common in infants, adults, and people who have received pertussis vaccine. 
• Vomiting during or after a coughing spell. 
• The person’s face or lips may look blue from lack of oxygen.
• The cough is often worse at night.
• Between coughing spells, the person seems well, but the illness is exhausting over time.  
• Coughing episodes gradually become less frequent, but may continue for several weeks or months until the lungs heal.

What are the complications of pertussis?

• Pertussis in infants is often severe, and infants are more likely than older children or adults to develop complications.
• The most common complication of pertussis is bacterial pneumonia.
• Rare complications include seizures, inflammation of the brain, and death.

Who gets pertussis?

• Anyone of any age can get pertussis.
• Teenagers and adults account for more than half of reported cases.
• Cases in school-age children are increasing.
• Older children and adults usually have less severe illness, but they can still spread the disease to infants and young children.

Is there a vaccine for pertussis?

There are two pertussis vaccines: DTaP and Tdap. Both vaccines are given in combination with tetanus and diphtheria. Your age determines which vaccine you should receive and how many doses you need. Talk to your health care provider to find out more.

Pregnant women should get Tdap during the third trimester of each pregnancy. If Tdap wasn’t given during pregnancy, the new mother should get Tdap right after delivery.

Timing of Tdap: If you haven’t received Tdap yet, you should get it even if you recently received Td vaccine. Ask your health care provider for Tdap at your next visit.

People who have completed some or all of the recommended vaccinations for pertussis may still get pertussis disease but will generally have a milder illness.

Is there a lab test for pertussis?

Yes. To test for pertussis, the nasal passages are swabbed. Material on the swab is then examined in the lab for the presence of pertussis bacteria.

How is pertussis spread?

The bacteria are found in fluids from the mouth and nose of someone with pertussis. The bacteria are spread when fluid containing the bacteria gets in your nose or mouth. This can happen when a person with pertussis coughs or sneezes on you, or by touching the fluid and then touching your eyes, nose, or mouth. In general, a person is at greater risk of getting pertussis if they are within three feet of someone with pertussis for at least 10 hours a week. This is considered close contact. 

The period between exposure to the bacteria and onset of illness is usually 7 to 10 days but may be as long as 21 days.

When and for how long can a person spread pertussis?

Pertussis is most infectious (most likely to spread to others) early in the illness. 

People who have pertussis but have completed five days of antibiotics can no longer spread the disease.

People who have the disease but do not take antibiotics can spread the disease during the first three weeks they are coughing. Note: The cough will generally last longer than three weeks until the lungs are healed.

Can pertussis be treated?

Pertussis can be treated with antibiotics, but treatment may not cure the symptoms. However, antibiotics will reduce the spread of disease to others.

Antibiotics lessen the symptoms if given during the early stages of illness. When antibiotics are started later in the illness, the damage from pertussis is already done and the cough will last until the lungs heal. Pertussis bacteria die off naturally after three weeks of coughing. If antibiotics are not started within that time, they are no longer recommended.

Antibiotics can also be given to close contacts of persons with pertussis to prevent or lessen the symptoms.

How can pertussis be prevented?

Vaccinate all children on time and make sure adolescents and adults receive Tdap. This is the best way to prevent pertussis. You can also:

• Avoid close contact with others who are coughing or otherwise ill.
• Wash their hands often.
• Stay at home if ill.
• Cover their cough with a tissue or cough into their sleeve.
• Seek medical attention if they develop pertussis-like symptoms or have been exposed to someone with pertussis.

If you have pertussis, stay at home and avoid close contact with others until you have taken antibiotics for at least five full days and are no longer infectious to others. If you are not taking antibiotics, stay at home for at least three weeks after your cough began. 

Croup vs Whooping Cough | Health Answers

Both croup and whooping cough can start off like a cold with symptoms of runny nose, cough, fever, red, watery eyes and nasal congestion for the first seven to ten days.

As symptoms worsen, both whooping cough and croup affect the respiratory system with inflammation and drainage causing coughing. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports a recent peak in whooping cough since 2012 with 48,277 cases in that year. Croup affects approximately 3% of children per year.

There are a few distinctive ways you can tell the difference between croup and whooping cough.

What is croup?

Croup is characterized by inflammation of the vocal cords and the trachea, leading to difficult breathing, a hoarse throat and a barking cough occurring after one or two days of cold symptoms. In addition to the cough, breathing can be high-pitched and noisy, especially at night. Croup is usually caused by a virus—75% of croup cases are caused by the parainfluenza virus—and it tends to be more common in the fall and winter.

Children aged six months to three years have the highest risk for croup, and the risk increases if you have a family history of croup. You may see rapid, labored, shallow breathing with a child’s nostrils flaring, and you may see their ribs each time they take a breath. Many cases of croup can be managed at home with pain medications and cool or warm mist to loosen secretions.

The severity of croup is described as:

• Mild: A barking cough without stridor (high-pitched wheezing sound where airflow is disrupted by vocal cords and trachea blockages)
• Moderate: Stridor at rest, mild retractions of the chest when breathing and symptoms of respiratory distress
• Severe: Significant stridor at rest, severe chest retractions, agitation, fatigue and paleness

See your child’s care provider if they have signs of respiratory distress with decreased or absent breath sounds, lips that are a bluish color, or decreased alertness.

What is whooping cough?

Pertussis (whooping cough) is known for the “whooping” sound made when someone gasps for air after a coughing fit. This respiratory tract infection is highly contagious and occurs in the trachea as well as the lungs. It has been called the “100-day cough” as the infection can last over 10 weeks.

Whooping cough is divided into three stages:

• Catarrhal stage: Symptoms are similar to a viral respiratory infection with a mild, occasional cough, low-grade fever, and runny nose lasting one to two weeks.
• Paroxysmal stage: Coughing increases in severity with a long series of coughs causing gagging or vomiting and struggling for breath, resulting in cyanosis (blue-colored skin from inadequate oxygenation of the blood.) The symptoms of a whooping noise after a coughing attack may not always occur. This stage lasts two to eight weeks.
• Convalescent stage: The cough slowly subsides with episodes of coughing recurring or worsening over several weeks to months. A study reports the median duration of cough in children was 112 days with a range of 38–191 days.

If a baby under one year gets whooping cough, about 50% will require hospitalization. If not treated, whooping cough can lead to pneumonia, seizure, brain damage and death. Antibiotics are the usual treatment to control symptoms and prevent the spread of disease.

Croup vs. whooping cough

This chart shows some of the differences between croup and whooping cough:

How do vaccinations help?

Vaccines protect communities by preventing the spread of disease. There is no vaccination for croup since it is caused by a virus, but there is a vaccination for whooping cough. Before vaccines were available in the 1940s, about 200,000 children contracted whooping cough and 9,000 children died. Now there are about 10,000–40,000 cases and 20 deaths per year due to whooping cough. If people stop getting vaccinated, a rapid rise of specific diseases could cause thousands to get sick and die.

Children under age 10 years were predominately affected by whooping cough before vaccines were available. Now over 50% of whooping cough cases are in unvaccinated adolescents and adults who are passing the infection on to unvaccinated infants and children. Parents should make sure older adults coming into contact with their infants have been vaccinated for whooping cough.

There are two vaccines available that protect against whooping cough: the DTaP vaccine and the Tdap vaccine. The DTaP vaccine protects babies and younger children, and the Tdap vaccine protects preteens, teens and adults, including pregnant women. Getting the vaccine during pregnancy helps protect unborn babies from whooping cough until they’re old enough to receive the DTaP vaccine at two months.

Beyond vaccination, there are two basic things everyone in the family can do to prevent the spread of either croup or whooping cough: wash your hands using soap and water or alcohol-based rubs after touching nasal secretions, and cover your nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing.

Published on August 17, 2019

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Cornia, P, and BA Lipsky. 2018. UpToDate: Pertussis infection in adolescents and adults: Treatment and prevention. 11 27. Accessed 07 25, 2019.
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Johnson, DW. 2009. “Croup.” BMJ Clin Evid.
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Mayo Clinic Staff. 2018. Mayo Whooping Cough symptoms & causes. 02 10. Accessed 2019.
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Woods, CR. 2018. Croup: Clinical features, evaluation, and diagnosis. 06 15. Accessed 07 25, 2019.
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Yeh, S, and C Mink. 2019. Pertussis infection in infants and children: Clinical features and diagnsis. 02 19. Accessed 07 25, 2019.
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Pertussis (Whooping cough) | Caring for kids

• Pertussis is a very contagious disease.
• Anyone who has not been vaccinated against pertussis can become ill with whooping cough. 
• Whooping cough is becoming more common among teenagers because the protection from their vaccines has worn off.  

Also called whooping cough, pertussis is caused by germs that get into the throat and lungs and makes it difficult to clear mucous from the airways. Children may cough so long and so hard that they can’t breathe. Young infants may not be able to cough forcefully and may stop breathing.

Babies with whooping cough may have fits (seizures) and in serious cases, go into a coma.  About 1 in 400 infants with pertussis dies because of pneumonia or brain damage.

Older children, adolescents and adults who get whooping cough will have 1 to 2 weeks of frequent severe coughing spells. In total, coughing can last from 6 to 12 weeks.

How does pertussis spread?

Pertussis is a very contagious disease.

• It spreads when an infected person coughs or sneezes and the germs land in the nose or mouth of someone who is close by.
• It usually spreads among family members and in other situations where there is close contact between people.

Pertussis is most contagious during the first 2 weeks, when symptoms are similar to a common cold.

Anyone who has not been vaccinated against pertussis can become ill with whooping cough. The pertussis vaccine does not work as well as other vaccines, and protection wears off after a few years, so even people who have had the vaccine can sometimes get pertussis. However, it is still important to get the vaccine because those who have been vaccinated and still get pertussis will have a much milder disease  than those who have not been vaccinated.

What are the symptoms of pertussis?

• Pertussis is also known as “whooping cough” because the main symptom is severe coughing. Coughing may be followed by a “whoop” sound before the next breath.
• It usually starts like a cold, with a very runny nose. After a few days, the typical coughing begins. Your child is already contagious when the cold-like symptoms start.
• The coughing can be so aggressive that children vomit or have trouble breathing. Many children keep themselves and their families awake because they cough so much in the night.
• The cough is usually severe for 2 to 3 weeks and then starts to get better.
• Some children will continue to have some coughing for several months after having pertussis, especially if they get a cold before they fully recover.

Whooping cough is becoming more common among teens because the protection from their vaccines has worn off. Older children and teens usually only have a prolonged cough without the “whoop” sound. They can also have trouble breathing, vomit, or experience weight loss.

Can pertussis cause bigger problems?

Yes. Babies with whooping cough may have spells where they don’t breathe or have seizures. In serious cases, they can go into a coma. Infants under 1 year old often have to be hospitalized. Almost all deaths from pertussis happen in children who are under 6 months old.

Older children, teenagers and adults may cough so hard that they break a rib, lose control of their urine, get a hernia or collapse a lung.

How is pertussis treated?

• If the illness is discovered early enough, before the coughing spells start, antibiotics may help.
• If treatment is started later, antibiotics won’t help. This is because the bacteria have already done their damage. But antibiotics may still be given to prevent the bacteria spreading to someone else.

How can I protect my child?

You can protect your child by making sure they are vaccinated.

Your child will be vaccinated at 2, 4, 6 and 18 months, at age 4 to 6 years, and usually again in adolescence (between 14 and 16 years of age). 

Adults should have one dose in their adult years, especially parents or grandparents of young children and people who work with young children. In most jurisdictions the adolescent and adult doses are provided free of charge.

Because this disease is so severe in very young babies, vaccination of all pregnant women is now recommended. Antibodies produced by the mother are passed to the fetus before birth, protecting the baby for the first few months of life. Young babies can also be protected if everyone around them, including adults, has been appropriately vaccinated, but that does not seem to protect them as well as vaccinating the pregnant mother.

When should I call the doctor?

Take your child to the doctor if you think that they might have whooping cough even if they have already received all scheduled vaccines.

If your child has been exposed to pertussis, they should receive pertussis vaccine as soon as possible if their vaccines are not up to date. Some children exposed to pertussis are given antibiotics. Your doctor or your local public health unit can tell you if your exposed child needs antibiotics.

See your doctor if your child has coughing that:

• is followed by vomiting, or
• is followed by a whooping sound when your child breathes in after coughing, or
• causes breathing problems, or
• makes your child’s skin or lips turn red, purple, or blue.

More information from the CPS

Reviewed by the following CPS committees

• Infectious Diseases and Immunization Committee

90,000 Whooping cough is worse than it seems – News – Press Center – Ministry of Health of Dagestan

Not only babies can suffer from this “childhood” disease, but also their mothers and fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers. Especially if they were not vaccinated in childhood. It is not for nothing that when examining people with persistent prolonged coughing, one in four has a whooping cough infection.

According to the data provided by the Republican Center for Infectious Diseases, the Republican Center for Infectious Diseases, as of the end of August, 148 cases of whooping cough were registered.

Was there bronchitis?

The initial stage of the disease lasts 1–2 weeks and is practically no different from the common cold in terms of symptoms. Therefore, at the first stage, it is almost impossible to diagnose whooping cough. The only thing that can be alarming is that the cough does not decrease, despite all the medications taken.

Only by the beginning of the third week, when, under the influence of toxins secreted by the pertussis bacillus, the cough takes the form of painful attacks, the first suspicions arise.And then the attentive doctor directs the patient for a special blood test. But this happens if a child is sick. If an adult complains of a cough, then doctors, as a rule, diagnose “tracheitis” or “bronchitis”.

In addition, atypical forms of whooping cough are often observed in adults, when there is no too strong cough. A person just coughs stubbornly, as with bronchitis, but no medication helps him. Whooping cough can last for quite a long time – up to two months or more. And all this time, the virus carrier is a source of infection for others.

After suffering a disease, a stable immunity is acquired, which lasts throughout life.

Cores Beware!

Whooping cough is a deadly disease for children under two years of age. However, in severe cases, adults can also have complications. The most common is pneumonia.

In addition to pneumonia, whooping cough can cause acute laryngitis and bronchiolitis. The toxins released by whooping cough can act on the central nervous system, causing various disorders.Sometimes the disease can provoke a violation of respiratory function and cardiac activity.

What will help?

Pertussis is treated with antibiotics if complications develop. Most often, pertussis gammaglobulin and drugs for sputum discharge, inhalation are prescribed for treatment.

Since whooping cough lasts a long time, it makes sense to use folk remedies to the maximum. Effective juice of onion or radish with honey in a ratio of 1: 1, infusion of medicinal marshmallow (1 tsp.spoon in a glass of boiling water), anise and dill infusion. Tea with thyme or licorice, which have a bactericidal, antiseptic and expectorant effect, will also be very useful.

Also necessary are daily walks in the fresh air and taking vitamins A, C, P. Vaccination, which must be repeated every 10 years, will help protect adults from the threat of pertussis. Well, it is necessary to strengthen the immune system, because the very fact of the disease is a sign that the immune system is not in the best shape.

Whooping cough. Symptoms, diagnosis, treatment

Pertussis is a highly contagious infection of the respiratory tract. In most patients, it is manifested by an extremely strong cough, followed by a sharp spasmodic breath, accompanied by the so-called reprise (a high-pitched sound, similar to the cry of a rooster). The cough is not only of great intensity, but also of extraordinary duration, sometimes referred to as the “ Hundred Day Cough.”

Before the vaccine was developed, whooping cough was considered a childhood disease and affected children of all ages.Currently, whooping cough occurs mainly in children in the first months of life (who, due to their young age, have not yet received a course of vaccinations against whooping cough), as well as in schoolchildren and young adults who have already lost post-vaccination immunity. Pertussis-related deaths are rare and occur mainly in infants under 4 months of age. Considering this fact, in many developed countries of the world, such as the United States, all pregnant women are given the whooping cough vaccine. This allows not only to develop immunity in the mother herself, but also to transfer protective antibodies against whooping cough to the baby, which will protect him in the first six months of life.Pertussis vaccination is often offered to people in the immediate environment of a newborn baby.

Available vaccines are divided into whole-cell and acellular, but they are all intended for preschool-age children only.

Whooping cough symptoms

From the moment of infection with whooping cough, to the onset of the first symptoms of the disease, it usually takes from seven to ten days. The first manifestations are quite mild, and most often they cannot be distinguished from a mild cold (ARVI):

• Runny nose Nasal congestion Red eyes and watery eyes Mild fever Cough

However, unlike SARS, these symptoms last a week or two, with no tendency to decrease.On the contrary, after two weeks, the cough increases sharply, acquiring a typical spasmodic character. The cough becomes paroxysmal, outside the seizures, the child looks practically healthy, but when the seizure begins, the child coughs, cannot stop the cough, inhales loudly between coughing and coughs again. The attack lasts 1-5 minutes, is often accompanied by protruding tongue, redness or blue discoloration of the skin of the face, and often ends with vomiting. The cough with whooping cough is so intense that children often have pain in the abdominal muscles (sore throat), hemorrhages occur in the sclera of the eyes, the frenulum of the tongue tears and bleeds, and after an attack the patient feels exhaustion and extreme fatigue.An attack is provoked by negative emotions, loud sounds, bright light, fright, etc. With the exclusion of provoking factors, attacks become somewhat less common, but they also occur in the absence of any apparent reasons. At the end of the cough, a small amount of viscous vitreous sputum often leaves in the form of cylinders (casts from the bronchi). Sometimes, especially in young children (the younger the age, the more often), after a coughing attack, a period of apnea occurs, that is, respiratory arrest. It usually lasts 5-20 seconds, after which the child takes a deep breath and begins to breathe normally.A sick person experiences five to forty attacks of spasmodic cough per day. During an attack, he cannot fully breathe (especially if there are periods of apnea after attacks), so the brain does not receive enough oxygen (experiences periods of hypoxia).

Coughing fits with whooping cough are not always so typical. Often, especially in adults, whooping cough manifests itself only as an obsessive dry cough, which cannot be eliminated in any way within a few months.

Babies with whooping cough may not cough at all.Instead, they may experience difficulty breathing or temporary cessation of breathing (apnea).

The period of spasmodic cough lasts up to 3 weeks, and then the cough begins to subside slowly. It may take 2-6 months to fully recover, and each cold that occurs during this period with a recovering person may be accompanied not by an ordinary cough, but by typical whooping cough attacks.

prolonged coughing fits may be accompanied by vomiting, redness or blue discoloration of the face, difficulty breathing, or noticeable pauses in breathing, spasmodic inhalation.

Causes of whooping cough

Pertussis is caused by a bacterium called Bordetella pertussis. An infected person sprays these bacteria around them when they cough or sneeze, and if the infected air is inhaled by a person who is not immune to whooping cough (who is not sick or vaccinated), then he becomes infected and becomes sick.

Persons who have not received pertussis vaccines or who have been vaccinated more than five years ago are at greatest risk of pertussis: children under 6 months of age and people over seven years of age.A child cannot be considered protected from whooping cough until at least three doses of the vaccine have been given.

Complications of whooping cough

Junior In the worst case, they can develop complications such as:

• Fracture or cracked rib
• Abdominal hernia (inguinal, umbilical, diaphragmatic)
• Hemorrhages in the sclera of the eyes, skin, mucous membranes of the mouth

In infants, especially those under 6 months of age, complications are much more likely and may include, Pneumonia, Apnea (prolonged respiratory arrest), Dehydration or weight loss due to feeding difficulties, Seizures, Brain damage ( hypoxia and / or excessive pressure) Because infants and toddlers are at greatest risk of complications from whooping cough, they often require hospital treatment.It should be understood that any of the described complications in children under 6 months of age can lead to death (although the risk of this is usually low).

Whooping cough diagnosis

Diagnosing whooping cough in its early stages is extremely difficult because its symptoms are similar to other common respiratory illnesses such as the common cold, flu or bronchitis.

Sometimes a doctor can diagnose whooping cough based on just one history (questioning) and seeing one typical coughing fit.

In other cases, the doctor may need special tests:

• Culture from the nasopharynx on bordetella. The doctor will take a swab from the nasopharynx (the place where the nose goes into the throat – behind and above the uvula). He will send this smear to a bacteriological laboratory where it will be tested for bordetella. This is the most reliable and reliable way to confirm whooping cough, but it is not always effective. Taking a smear can only be carried out before the start of antibiotic therapy and no later than the third week from the onset of the disease.But even if you follow all the rules for sampling the analysis, it is often negative even with real whooping cough. Therefore, a positive smear for whooping cough will reliably confirm whooping cough, but a negative one will not necessarily rule out the disease .
• Complete blood count. A blood sample is sent to a clinical laboratory where its composition and the number of each type of blood cell will be checked. This is a general test that provides the doctor with a lot of useful information, but is not capable of confirming or excluding whooping cough by itself.
• Disease detection tests

throat swab to identify the pathogen Bordetella pertussis – relevant in the first 5–7 days from the onset of the disease;

blood from a vein for the determination of antibodies – IgA (appear after 2.5-3 weeks from the onset of the disease), IgG (produced in the 3rd week of the disease) and IgM (detected from the 2nd week),;

nasal or pharyngeal swab to identify the pathogen Bordetella pertussis by PCR – can be performed in the 1st month of illness.

• Chest X-ray. A doctor may order an x-ray to rule out pneumonia and pleurisy, which can complicate both whooping cough itself and whooping cough-like ARVI.
• Blood enzyme immunoassay (ELISA for antibodies to whooping cough). This is a rather inaccurate analysis, since antibodies can appear both for the acute phase of pertussis and for vaccination, a long-term illness, bordetella carriage, or not at all.However, in some situations, the doctor may still need this analysis as an auxiliary tool. Contact persons are observed for 21 days and when a cough occurs, they are sent for bacteriological examination (swabs from the pharynx) at the Center for Hygiene and Epidemiology on Plekhanov 18, in the morning on an empty stomach, do not brush your teeth

Whooping cough treatment

Usually, children in the first year of life with whooping cough require hospitalization because whooping cough is especially dangerous for this age group. Treatment of older children and adults, as a rule, can be carried out at home.

Medicines for the treatment of whooping cough

Antibiotics kill the bacteria that cause whooping cough, and in some cases accelerate recovery. -Macrolides, Amoxiclav, Flemoxin solutab, Prophylactic antibiotics may be prescribed to family members of the sick person. A patient with whooping cough stops shedding bordetella with a cough immediately after the end of the course of antibiotics, or after 21 days from the onset of the disease (even without any treatment). Therefore, there is no need to start antibiotics after this period, if the patient does not have bacterial complications (pneumonia, etc.).Antibiotics are most effective during the incubation period, and before the onset of the spasmodic (most severe) period – while they significantly facilitate or even prevent the development of spasmodic cough. But the trick is that before the spasmodic period it is almost impossible to guess that the patient is sick with whooping cough. Therefore, antibiotics are needed not so much by the patient himself as by the closest members of his family.

The second big advantage of antibiotic therapy is that after its implementation, the patient stops secreting bordetella around him and infecting other people, despite the fact that a pronounced cough will bother him for many months.

Unfortunately, whooping cough is almost impossible to relieve. Antitussives based on butamirate, codeine, dextrametorphan, etc. are often used, but have not been proven to be effective in rigorous studies.

Usually, the patient is prescribed long walks in the fresh air (without contacting other people!), Positive emotions (especially for children) and a calm daily routine. Strictly speaking, until now, medicine has no other measures to influence the natural course of whooping cough.The body itself fights this infection and recovers, the task of doctors is to interrupt the spread of infection and promptly identify and treat complications of whooping cough.

Advice for the patient

Get plenty of rest. A cool, dark and quiet bedroom makes night attacks easier and less frequent, and the sick person’s sleep is calmer.

• Drink plenty of fluids. Water, juice and soups are the best choices. It is especially important to watch for signs of dehydration in children, such as dry lips, crying without tears, and rarely urinating.
• Eat small meals. To avoid vomiting after coughing, eat small amounts of food often. Avoid overeating.
• Purify the air in your home. Ventilate often, completely eliminate tobacco smoke, smoke from a fireplace, strong chemical odors, etc.
• Prevent the spread of infection. Cover your mouth when coughing, wash your hands constantly and often; if you must be in a circle of unprotected persons, wear a mask.

Pertussis prophylaxis

Vaccination is the best way to prevent whooping cough.- AKDS, Most often, doctors inject a vaccine that protects not only against whooping cough, but also diphtheria and tetanus – two other serious diseases. The first dose of this vaccine is given to a child at the age of 2-3 months.

A number of imported combination preparations are presented on the Russian market, which contain 4-5-6 vaccines in one syringe (Infanrix Hexa, Pentaxim, Tetraxim, etc.), all of them contain acellular pertussis component. This makes the vaccine easier to tolerate but increases the cost.In the Russian national calendar, it is planned to vaccinate with the whole-cell DTP vaccine. This vaccine is more difficult for children to tolerate, but it gives more reliable immunity against pertussis, and therefore it is still the “gold standard” of pertussis vaccination, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Whichever pertussis vaccine you choose for your child, convincingly We ask you not to give it up at all, and not to delay the vaccination of your child. Whooping cough is a long-term, severe, debilitating and sometimes fatal disease.In our country, an unfavorable epidemic situation persists, and each pediatrician has more than one case of a child with whooping cough every year. This is perhaps the most common infection that the national vaccination calendar protects against, after the flu. Do not give in to the panic generated by anti-vaccination agents – it has no rational justification.

Doctor – infectious disease specialist

Healthcare Institution “22nd City Polyclinic” M. KrinitsynaG.

– TGBUZ “Pichaevskaya Central Regional Hospital”

Dear residents of the area!

From 20 to 25 April 2015, Russia participates in the Tenth European Immunization Week, organized in European countries at the initiative of the World Health Organization. The aim of European Immunization Week is to free the European Region from vaccine-preventable diseases. Immunization is widely recognized as one of the most successful and effective health care measures in the world to keep people alive and healthy.This year’s event will be held under the slogan “Bridging the Immunization Gaps”.

Immunization has saved more lives than any other public health intervention. Experts estimate that immunization prevents about 3 million deaths from diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis and measles every year. In total, more than 100 highly effective and safe vaccines have been created to combat more than 40 diseases. Thanks to vaccinations, smallpox has been eliminated all over the world, the incidence of poliomyelitis, measles, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, and mumps has decreased many times.At the same time, over 15 million of the world’s inhabitants continue to die every year from infectious diseases, many of which could have been avoided thanks to timely vaccinations.

In recent years, in the countries of Europe, Asia, as well as in the Russian Federation, the epidemiological situation with measles has become more complicated, an outbreak of poliomyelitis registered in Tajikistan in 2010 proves a significant threat of the import of infections into the territory of the Tambov region. In conditions of active migration processes, the risk of importation and spread of infections remains, primarily among unvaccinated persons.If we stop vaccinating, the infections will definitely return.

In 2014, a new National Vaccination Schedule was adopted. This regulatory legal act establishes the terms and procedure for carrying out preventive vaccinations to citizens. The purpose of this event: to ensure the epidemiological well-being of the population and prevent the spread of infections. The basis is the Federal Law of September 17, 1998 No. 157-FZ “On the immunization of infectious diseases.” In accordance with Art.5 of this Law, vaccinations are carried out free of charge in medical institutions at the place of residence. The national calendar of preventive vaccinations provides for immunization against the main infectious diseases: tuberculosis, hepatitis B, diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, poliomyelitis, measles, rubella, mumps, hemophilic and pneumococcal infections, influenza.

Progress in immunoprophylaxis is evident, this is evidenced by the absence of cases of whooping cough, diphtheria, tetanus, poliomyelitis, measles, mumps, tularemia, rabies on the territory of the Pichaevsky district.

During 2006–2015, 1,565 children and women were vaccinated against rubella, which made it possible to reduce the incidence by 70 times; since 2009, there have been no cases of rubella in the district.

During 2006-2015, 2282 children and 5159 adults were vaccinated against hepatitis B, which led first to a 3-fold decrease in the incidence of acute hepatitis B, and then to the absence of morbidity.

This data clearly demonstrates the effectiveness of vaccines against infections.And such amazing results – thousands of infectious diseases averted, hundreds of complications averted, and dozens of deaths averted – can be achieved for every infectious disease for which we have vaccines.

To assess the importance and necessity of vaccination, here are some examples:

– if the child is not vaccinated, then he:

– will definitely get sick with measles and will be at risk of dying from it and much more – to endure a serious complication, up to the defeat of the central nervous system in the form of encephalitis;

– will cough painfully for 1-2 months with whooping cough and, possibly, will suffer pertussis encephalitis;

– can get diphtheria (10-20% probability), from which every tenth person dies;

– runs the risk of dying or being crippled for life after having had polio;

– will not be protected from tuberculosis;

– will suffer mumps (mumps) and if it is a boy, then there is the prospect of becoming infertile;

– can become infected with rubella, which, with a relatively mild course in children, in adolescence and older age, can cause damage to the joints, and in pregnant women – cause intrauterine damage to the fetus;

– can become infected with hepatitis B with a high probability of developing later chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis or liver cancer;

– will be forced to receive anti-tetanus serum with each injury, which is fraught with the development of anaphylactic shock or other anaphylactic reactions.

Postponed infections threaten with severe complications that can lead to disability. Only preventive vaccinations can protect your child from diseases such as polio, diphtheria, whooping cough, tuberculosis, tetanus, hepatitis B, measles, mumps (mumps), rubella, pneumococcal and hemophilic infections. Vaccinations against these diseases that are dangerous to health and life are included in the National Calendar of Preventive Vaccinations in Russia.

Tuberculosis – the disease affects the lungs and bronchi, tuberculous meningitis is dangerous for children in the first year of life.Those who are not vaccinated against tuberculosis infection have a tenfold increase in the risk of severe tuberculosis with numerous complications leading to disability.

The first time the BCG vaccine is given to babies in the maternity hospital, and then on the eve of entering school with a negative Mantoux test.

Hepatitis B is a severe infectious disease characterized by liver damage. The viral hepatitis B transferred at an early age in 50-95% of cases becomes chronic, leading in the future to cirrhosis and liver cancer.

This infection is very common now in Russia, so all children are vaccinated against it on the first day of life, and then at the age of 1 and 6 months. Adults are subject to vaccination up to 55 years of age.

Poliomyelitis (or infantile paralysis) is an acute infectious disease predominantly affecting the central nervous system, primarily the spinal cord. The disease is accompanied by the development of persistent paralysis, leading to disability or death. Although polio has become rare, it still occurs in some countries.Therefore, it is necessary to vaccinate and create immunity to this infection in every child.

Vaccinations against poliomyelitis are carried out at the age of 3 months, 4.5 months, 6 months, 18 months, 20 months. and 14 years old.

Whooping cough is an infectious disease of the respiratory tract. This disease is especially difficult in children during the first months of life and often leads to death. Dangerous is damage to the lungs (bronchopneumonia) with attacks of respiratory arrest, especially in infancy.Complications often develop: nosebleeds, convulsions, pneumonia, brain damage, etc. Fatal outcomes of the disease are noted, especially in unvaccinated children under 6 months of age.

Vaccinations protect children in the first months of life who are most affected by infection. Vaccination is done from 3 months, repeating it at 4.5 and 18 months with a combined vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis and poliomyelitis

Diphtheria is an acute infectious disease characterized by toxic damage to the body, mainly of the cardiovascular and nervous systems.Such complications of diphtheria as infectious-toxic shock, myocarditis, polyneuritis are possible. With diphtheria, the body temperature rises, pain occurs when swallowing, the tonsils are covered with a grayish film, mucous edema and narrowing of the airways develop. The patient may die of suffocation. Of the 100 unvaccinated patients with diphtheria, 10 die. In case of recovery, there are often severe complications from the cardiovascular system, kidneys and adrenal glands.

Outbreaks of diphtheria are still occurring, so they are vaccinated against the disease at the age of 3, 4.5 and 18 months, then 7 and 14 years, and every 10 years.Vaccinations against diphtheria have practically no contraindications, which is confirmed by scientific research.

Tetanus – affects the nervous system, and, due to paralysis of respiration and heart muscle, 100% of those who are not vaccinated are fatal. The causative agent of tetanus is ubiquitous not only in nature, but also in household items, household items, clothing, etc. The disease develops when the tetanus pathogen hits the damaged skin (wounds, abrasions, scratches, cuts, etc.)etc.).

Tetanus is vaccinated at the age of 3, 4.5 and 18 months, then 7 and 14 years and every 10 years.

Measles is a highly contagious infectious disease. The measles virus is transmitted from a sick person to a healthy person by talking, coughing, sneezing, etc. In almost 100% of cases, people who are not vaccinated against measles are susceptible to this infection. The disease can cause the development of otitis media, pneumonia that does not respond to antibiotic treatment, and encephalitis. In children of the first year of life, measles is especially difficult: internal organs (liver, spleen) are affected.

Measles vaccinations are carried out for children aged 1 and 6 years, and for adults under 35 years of age who have not been ill or vaccinated against measles or have been vaccinated once.

Mumps (mumps) – can be complicated by meningitis, inflammation of the pancreas, the brain is affected, which leads to the development of meningitis, large joints become inflamed. Mumps is one of the reasons for the development of male and female infertility, as the virus infects the genitals. The defeat of the hearing organs due to the transferred epidemic mumps leads to complete deafness, and inflammation of the pancreas – to diabetes mellitus.

Mumps vaccinations are given together with measles vaccination for children aged 1 and 6 years.

Rubella – poses a great danger to pregnant women who can get infected from sick children. Rubella disease in pregnant women very often leads to the development of blindness, deafness, multiple fetal deformities, miscarriages and stillbirths. Rubella vaccinations are given to children aged 1 and 6 years, as well as girls and women under the age of 25 who have not had rubella and have not previously been vaccinated against rubella.

Pneumococcal infection – occurs in the form of pneumonia, inflammation of the middle ear, purulent meningitis, endocarditis, pleurisy, inflammation of the joints. Pneumococcal infection is often a complication of viral infections. Pneumococcal pneumonia accounts for up to 70% of all pneumonia. Vaccinations against pneumococcal infection are given to children from 2 months.

Hemophilic infection type B (HIB ) – is found in about half of children with purulent meningitis and in every fourth baby with symptoms of colds, bronchitis, pneumonia and otitis media.In its presence, the disease is very difficult, and often also with complications in the form of sepsis and the appearance of purulent foci in different organs.

But the worst part is that hemophilic HIB infection is very poorly treated. In 2014, a five-year-old child died from hemophilic infection in Tambov.

Vaccinations against hemophilic infection are given to children at risk as prescribed by a pediatrician from 3 months.

Influenza – severe viral infection, ending tragically for some.And it is often complicated by pneumonia, otitis media, sinusitis, so that during influenza epidemics, the incidence of pneumonia and other bacterial infections of the respiratory tract increases sharply. Children become susceptible to influenza from the second half of their life. During the first months, the baby is protected by the anti-influenza antibodies received from the mother, so the likelihood of illness is low. But later he loses these antibodies and remains completely defenseless until he comes into “contact” with the flu, i.e. will not get sick with it. Having been ill with the flu (usually hard), the child acquires antibodies to it, but the problem is that the influenza virus is changing all the time, so the antibodies to the one that circulated in previous years will not fully protect against the new variant of the virus.

There is a flu vaccine for children and adults, it is safe and effective, its cost is incomparable with the costs incurred by the family of a person with the flu. Not to use this opportunity is irresponsible to say the least.Flu shots are given annually in the fall.

Children usually tolerate modern drugs well and they rarely cause problems. Most of the vaccines known to us from childhood have now become milder – they have been rid of components that can cause unwanted reactions. A fever or slight swelling after vaccination is a normal reaction.

Vaccinations are vital for everyone – child and adult. Refusing vaccinations is not only wrong, but also unreasonable.In most cases, refusal to vaccinate is observed against the background of epidemic well-being, when the vast majority of the population is vaccinated against major infectious diseases. Seeing such well-being, parents think that the disease has been defeated. But the fact that children living nearby do not get sick is not a guarantee that an unvaccinated child will not get sick.

The modern world is unthinkable without immunization. Vaccinations primarily protect human health. If immunization is abolished altogether, then the world will again be mired in epidemics, as it was centuries ago.Vaccination saves not only life, but also its quality. After the transferred infections, various complications often arise, destroying dreams and plans for the future, changing the future life not for the better.

Parents (guardians) must remember that by refusing to immunize children, you endanger their life and health and deprive them of their legal rights to protection from dangerous infectious diseases that can be prevented by means of specific prophylaxis.

By vaccinating a child, you protect him from infectious diseases and prevent not only the development of the disease itself, but, more importantly, the development of the most serious complications.

Help your child.

Help him now while he is not infected yet.

Make his future life safer, give yourself the joy of having healthy grandchildren !!

90,000 Measles, whooping cough and hepatitis B. Stories of people who have been ill, and advice from doctors | Hromadske TV

Especially for Hromadske, doctors talked about the peculiarities of infectious diseases that Ukrainians most often suffered from last year.

And those who had to transfer them – about which pill is still better – with an infection or a vaccine.

Measles

Measles is an infectious disease. Its causative agent is a virus that is rapidly transmitted from a healthy person to a sick person by airborne droplets. This can happen if you inhale tiny droplets of mucus that gets into the air while sneezing, coughing, or talking.

Symptoms of the disease – fever, headache, cough, runny nose, watery eyes, sensitivity to light, swollen lymph nodes, vomiting and diarrhea.

On days 4-5, red eruptions appear that begin on the scalp and then spread to the entire body.

There is no cure for the measles virus. And it is also impossible to predict exactly how the disease will proceed. Complications due to illness can include pneumonia, encephalitis, disability, and death.

“You can lower the temperature, act on the symptoms, but if a bacterial infection is added, antibacterial drugs should be used. If there is a life threat, inflammation of the brain, then the person will be reanimated, ”explains immunologist Fyodor Lapiy.

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Pediatric immunologist Fyodor Lapiy, Kiev, July 10, 2019

Photo:

Hromadske

The doctor calls vaccination the only method of disease prevention.

According to the Center for Public Health, since 2007 the level of vaccination in Ukraine has declined. It was the minimum in 2011. And only in 2017-2018 the situation improved.

According to Lapia’s forecasts, the 2019-2020 season may be the last, after which the measles outbreak in Ukraine will decline.However, by the end of this year, another 50 thousand people may get sick.

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“Measles is a disease that can be very well controlled by vaccination. By vaccinating children, we create an immune layer and prevent the virus from spreading even among adults who do not have immunity, ”says the immunologist.

Vaccine against measles – a complex three-component, which provides immunity also against mumps and rubella (MMR).

According to the national immunization schedule, a child should receive the first dose of vaccine at 12 months after birth, and the second at 6 years of age.This can be done free of charge in communal medical facilities with a family doctor.

Recently, due to an outbreak of measles, the Ministry of Health allowed the MMR vaccine to be given to children from 6 months of age, as measles is especially dangerous for them and can lead to death.

Adults of all ages can now get the vaccine free of charge. It is guaranteed to those who have been in contact with the patient and have consulted a doctor within 72 hours; those who have not had measles and do not have documentary evidence of vaccinations in their medical records; and those who, according to the results of tests for the presence of IgG antibodies, do not have immunity against measles.

“If you have two shots in your life, you are considered protected. Yes, there is a percentage that does not respond to vaccinations and remains susceptible to measles. In this case, it is worth doing an analysis for the presence of IgG antibodies. If there are antibodies, you are protected. If not, according to the recommendations of the Ministry of Health, it is worth vaccinating. ”

There is a vaccine from two manufacturers in Ukraine – Belgian and American.

According to the immunologist, they are both of high quality.

You can check the availability of the vaccine in your area at communal institutions and online .

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A mother and daughter are waiting for vaccination against measles in one of the family medicine outpatient clinics in Uzhgorod, February 1, 2018

Photo:

Nemesh Yanosh / UNIAN

Ekaterina from Kiev believes that vaccinations should be done consciously and take into account all possible risks, both from vaccination and disease transmission.

Her three children had measles at the same time. She and her family had just gone to rest in the Carpathians when her 14-year-old eldest son fell ill.

The parents did not suspect that it could be measles.The boy had a fever and a sore throat. Then small bubbles appeared there. On the third day, a rash began on the face and behind the ears.

“On the fourth day after the start of the rise in temperature, the rash became similar to the one that can be Google for measles,” says the woman, “on the seventh day, the rash began to descend on the legs and heels. The temperature also dropped. Then there was weakness for a few more days. The rashes are brown and the skin is dry. ”

Since the day the temperature rose, her son had been ill for a week.The most difficult were two days, when the temperature was above 39.

The middle and youngest daughters of Catherine fell ill on the tenth and thirteenth days after the first contact. The youngest, who was then three years old, suffered the disease most easily.

Ekaterina says that after being ill, the children received “one hundred percent natural immunity” . Previously, they also had whooping cough and chickenpox.

However, it is impossible to predict the course of measles in advance: over the past six months, 18 people have died from measles.

Fedor Lapiy explains that the danger of measles lies in the fact that there are people around who have problems with immunity. They can be cancer patients or HIV-infected, and you shouldn’t forget about them.

“It is our duty as citizens to protect them, to give them the right to life, to help avoid the risk of complications from measles. This can only be done by being vaccinated, ”the doctor notes.

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Ekaterina had three children who had measles at the same time, the eldest son was already 14 years old at that time, Kiev, July 11, 2019

Photo:

Hromadske

Pertussis

Last year, Ukrainians were most sick, there was whooping cough.This is also an infectious disease, it is also transmitted by airborne droplets. You can get infected by sneezing, coughing, talking.

Whooping cough begins as a common acute respiratory infection with high fever, runny nose, and mild cough. Further, the disease progresses, the cough becomes more frequent and obsessive.

“Whooping cough is characterized by severe, debilitating attacks of spasmodic coughing. It can end in vomiting. A sick person cannot sleep because of this.There may even be respiratory arrest, ”says pediatrician Anastasia Bykova-Shelevitskaya.

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Pediatrician Anastasia Bykova-Shelevitskaya, Kiev, July 10, 2019

Photo:

Hromadske

Whooping cough is the most dangerous for children under one year old. In most cases, they need hospitalization, as due to respiratory arrest, which can lead to death, they must be monitored by doctors.

For adults, whooping cough is safer, the disease progresses in such a way that it may not be diagnosed.

However, complications caused by whooping cough include pneumonia, umbilical hernia, rib fracture and urinary incontinence.

The only protection against whooping cough is vaccination.

An Indian-made vaccine is presented in Ukraine. According to the national immunization schedule, it is given at 2, 4, 6 and 18 months from the birth of the child.

Revaccination against whooping cough is not provided.

However, having fallen ill once, a person will not have lifelong immunity, so preventive vaccinations still need to be done.

“According to the WHO recommendations, at the age of 6 and 16, when they are vaccinated against diphtheria and tetanus, and it is possible to include the pertussis component, it is better to do this. Better to do revaccination at 6, 16, 26 and every ten years, ”says the pediatrician.

She also advises adults with small children to be vaccinated. Because before receiving the first vaccination, that is, up to two months, the baby has a risk of getting sick.

“There is a cocoon strategy – when we cannot vaccinate a child, we surround him with vaccinated parents and people who are in close contact with him.”

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Children’s Diagnostic Center, Kiev, July 10, 2019

Photo:

Hromadske

Olga’s twins had whooping cough when they were five months old. The first to fall ill was the daughter, and then the son. The children were not vaccinated at the time of illness.

“The children were born underweight, therefore, according to the doctors’ recommendations, we had to postpone the vaccinations. We have postponed the vaccine, which the children should receive in the maternity hospital, for two months, ”says Olga.

The daughter had a hard time suffering from her illness.She had constant bouts of coughing and did not have enough oxygen. Not immediately, but still, doctors diagnosed whooping cough and put the girl in the infectious diseases ward of the city hospital.

“I kept a detailed diary of the course of the disease. Every three hours I made a cut: what kind of cough – with reprises (noisy breath, accompanied by a whistle – ed.) Or without, what temperature – with or without vomiting. ”

A week later, Olga’s son was hospitalized. He suffered the disease more easily, because whooping cough was immediately diagnosed and treatment began.

Olga spent three weeks in the hospital with her children, and at seven months she vaccinated children against whooping cough. They are now two and a half years old.

“If we had had time to get vaccinated against whooping cough, then even if they had become infected, the move would have been easier. Having gone this way with my daughter, my opinion is unambiguous – it is necessary to get vaccinations. ”

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Olga’s twins had whooping cough when they were five months old, Kiev, July 15, 2019

Photo:

Hromadske

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Acute viral hepatitis B

Hepatitis B is a viral infection that predominantly affects liver.In some cases, the kidneys and thyroid gland may be affected. The virus is transmitted by contact with blood. Therefore, the greatest risk of getting sick is in those who are most often in contact with her. For example, doctors and police officers.

A micro-dose is sufficient for hepatitis B infection. Infection can occur when using the blood of an infected person, non-sterile medical instruments, household items used by an infected person, during piercing, tattooing, manicure, pedicure, sexual intercourse, from mother to child, or when using drugs using non-sterile, non-disposable injection equipment …

The virus is not transmitted through cutlery, during breastfeeding, hugging, kissing, shaking hands, coughing, sneezing and saliva.

The only way to protect yourself from hepatitis B is by vaccination.

Since 2002, all newborns have been vaccinated against hepatitis B on the first day of life. Subsequent doses – monthly and six months later.

Vaccination is effective and effective for more than ten years. Then you need to go to your family doctor so that he assesses the immunity and decides whether revaccination is needed.

“Everyone who has not been vaccinated at the hospital, I believe, should be tested for viruses. In case of a negative result, get vaccinated, ”says Lyudmila Kolomiychuk, an infectious disease specialist at the Institute of Infectious Diseases.

There are two stages of hepatitis B – acute and chronic. During the acute form, there may not be any manifestations of the disease. Some people also experience yellowing of the eyes and skin, darkening of urine, excessive fatigue, nausea, vomiting, pain in the abdomen and in the right hypochondrium.

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Free express testing for hepatitis during the action on the eve of World Hepatitis Day, Kiev, July 26, 2019

Photo:

Hromadske

Acute hepatitis B does not require specific treatment. But it happens in a hospital under the supervision of doctors. After illness, the person will be immune to the virus.

If the symptoms persist for more than six months, this means that the virus has become chronic.

“If a patient develops chronic hepatitis B, it may result in liver cirrhosis, cancer, or a serious complication that always needs an organ transplant,” says Kolomiychuk.

Chronic hepatitis B is incurable.

“Treatment of chronic hepatitis is more of an ambitious goal than an easy one to achieve,” also confirms Sergei Antonyak, Research Fellow at the Institute of Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases.

Olga from Kiev has a chronic form of hepatitis B. Previously, a woman used drugs and accidentally injected her infected friend with a needle. At first Olga did not pay attention to this, and after a few weeks her stomach began to ache unbearably.The woman went to the infectious diseases department of the hospital, where she was diagnosed with the hepatitis B virus. She spent a month there.

“So I went to the doctor late, hepatitis immediately turned into a chronic form,” says Olga.

She has been living with the disease for more than five years. A woman tries to be careful everywhere and check everything – when she did a tattoo, she warned the master about the disease, she has her own doctor, a personal set for a manicure, only personal hygiene products that none of her relatives and friends use anymore.

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Olga, a former drug addict on treatment, suffers from a chronic form of hepatitis B, Kiev, July 26, 2019

Photo:

Hromadske

Now the woman does not take any medications, is on a diet due to lesions in the gastric system and is constantly tested for viral load.

In Olga’s case, the disease can lead to cirrhosis of the liver.

Olga says that at the time of infection she did not have a vaccination and did not know about vaccination against hepatitis.

“It’s good if you could get the vaccine free of charge. I would recommend that people get vaccinated because that is the only way that helps protect against the virus. ”

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Whooping cough – get vaccinated in Moscow at the Central Clinical Hospital of the Russian Academy of Sciences

Whooping cough is a still common, preventable infection characterized by a severe, debilitating, spastic cough. The traditional name for whooping cough in some countries of the world is “100-day cough.”It is estimated that whooping cough develops 23 times more often in unvaccinated children. The spread of bacteria with tiny droplets of mucus occurs when the patient coughs or sneezes.

It is important to understand that this infection is not only a problem of childhood! Adults also suffer from whooping cough with prolonged cough; a special risk group is patients suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, bronchial asthma, because the causative agent of the infection causes an exacerbation or significant deterioration of the existing condition.

The clinic manifests itself in stages:

• In the first 3-14 days of the incubation period of the disease, as if there were no manifestations of the disease;
• In the next 5-14 days of the catarrhal period, nonspecific symptoms of an acute respiratory infection appear – low-grade fever, runny nose, sore throat, superficial cough;
• Over the next 10-20 days of the spastic period of the disease, a typical pattern for whooping cough unfolds with a debilitating constant unproductive cough, accompanied by reddening of the face, swelling of the veins, lacrimation and hemorrhage in the conjunctiva of the eyes, protruding tongue up to the tear of the frenulum.A painful attack of coughing ends with a noisy inhalation-reprisals, vomiting up to the cessation of breathing in an infant, and all this intensifies towards night.
• The recovery period lasts a very long time – from 2 weeks to 6 months – the cough gradually subsides, diminishes. However, coughing fits easily recur when exposed to nonspecific irritants (cold air, laughter, etc.) and common viral infections. And if at the beginning of the disease the cough is caused by damage to the mucous membrane of the respiratory tract, then later, it arises reflexively due to the formation of a pathological dominant in the brain.

Whooping cough is especially difficult in children under one year old, with a high risk of death, which requires hospitalization, often in the intensive care unit. That is why in the United States, vaccination of pregnant women from the 28-week period is mandatory, both to protect the expectant mother from whooping cough and to form immunity for the newborn from the first days of life.

Complications of whooping cough are diverse: bronchitis, pneumonia, rupture of the frenum of the tongue, apnea, encephalopathy. Isolation up to 21 days.Antibiotic therapy is effective only in the catarrhal and initial attack period, then only symptomatic treatment is possible, which is ineffective in most cases.

Vaccination is the only effective reliable protection against whooping cough.

It is important to follow the recommended vaccination schedule and the required interval between injections in order to develop strong immunity against whooping cough, and to maintain protection, it is necessary to administer booster doses to adults every 10 years throughout life!

In vaccinated infants, post-vaccination immunity after age-related revaccination at 1.5 years old fades away by 6-7 years.And in elementary school children “in chorus” start to get sick with whooping cough. And from them parents, grandparents, especially younger brothers and sisters, for whom whooping cough is extremely dangerous, become infected. To maintain immunity, it is necessary to carry out systematic revaccinations throughout life. This is why regular booster vaccinations, in accordance with the national immunization schedule, are so important to protect the child, themselves and those around them from this debilitating and dangerous infection. Now this has become possible thanks to the appearance on the Russian market of a complex vaccine containing a reduced amount of pertussis component, aimed at maintaining protection and minimizing reactions to immunization.

90,000 Vaccines against whooping cough, diphtheria and tetanus

Both Russian and imported vaccines are registered in Russia.

All vaccines against whooping cough, diphtheria and tetanus are divided into two groups according to the pertussis component they contain:

Whole Cell – They contain the whole cell pertussis component

And acellular (acellular) – do not contain areas of the pertussis shell, which are responsible for the development of severe post-vaccination reactions.

DPT (Russia) – vaccine against whooping cough, diphtheria and tetanus. Contains whole cell pertussis component. Used from 3 months

Bubo-Kok (Russia) – vaccine against whooping cough, diphtheria, tetanus and viral hepatitis B. Contains whole-cell pertussis component. Used from 3 months

Bubo-M (Russia) – forms protection against diphtheria, tetanus and hepatitis B.Used for children from 7 years old and adults.

Infanrix (Belgium) – acellular vaccine against whooping cough, diphtheria and tetanus. Used from 3 months.

Pentaxim (France) – acellular vaccine against whooping cough, diphtheria, tetanus, polio and hemophilus influenza. Used from 3 months.

Infanrix Hexa (Belgium) – acellular vaccine against whooping cough, diphtheria, tetanus, poliomyelitis, hemophilic infection and viral hepatitis B.Used from 3 months.

Adasel (France) – acellular vaccine against whooping cough, diphtheria and tetanus. It can be used for children from 4 years of age and adults up to 64 years of age.

Pertussis, diphtheria and tetanus vaccination schedule.

From 3 months – 3-fold vaccination with an interval of 45 days.

The first revaccination is a year after the third vaccination.

Subsequent booster vaccinations against diphtheria and tetanus at 7 and 14 years old,

then every 10 years without age limit.

Whooping cough

Acute infectious disease, accompanied by inflammation in the upper respiratory tract and paroxysmal spastic cough.

Pertussis – caused by a specific bacterium called Bordetella pertussis. The microbe is transmitted by airborne droplets (when coughing, sneezing, talking) during close contact with a sick person. The disease is highly contagious.

Pertussis bacteria produces specific toxins that irritate the mucous membrane of the respiratory tract. As a result, a spasm of the diaphragm and bronchial muscles (bronchospasm) develops, and a so-called spastic cough occurs. The cough reflex is gradually fixed in the respiratory center of the medulla oblongata (part of the brain), which leads to increased and increased frequency of coughing attacks.

The most common complication of whooping cough is pneumonia, most often streptococcal or staphylococcal.In children of the first year of life, whooping cough is dangerous due to respiratory arrest during attacks, the duration of which varies from a few seconds to several minutes. Due to a lack of oxygen, they may develop skeletal muscle cramps, encephalopathy, damage to internal organs, etc.

Other complications: bronchitis, pleurisy (inflammation of the pleura covering the lungs), purulent otitis media. Occasionally, severe complications occur due to strong cough shocks (cerebral hemorrhage, ruptured eardrums).

Diphtheria

An infectious bacterial disease characterized by the formation of films on the skin, mucous membrane of the oropharynx and eyes.

Both adults and children are ill. The source is a diphtheria bacillus, which is transmitted by airborne droplets, the household route of transmission is possible (through toys, household items). Target organs – nose, pharynx, larynx, skin, eyes. Severe symptoms of intoxication are noted – high body temperature, chills, headaches and muscle pains, catarrhal symptoms – pain and sore throat, hoarseness.On the second day, diphtheria films of light gray color with clear edges appear on the mucous membranes, smooth, shiny, it is difficult to remove them, a bleeding wound remains at the site of removal of the film, on the surface of which a new film forms. If the larynx is affected, diphtheria croup may occur – this is laryngeal edema, which leads to difficulty breathing until it stops (asphyxia). The toxin secreted by the diphtheria bacillus affects the heart, kidneys, and can cause reversible paresis and paralysis.

Tetanus

Acute bacterial disease in which severe damage to the nervous system occurs with the development of tonic tension of skeletal muscles and the development of generalized seizures.

The causative agent of tetanus is the bacillus Clostridium tetani. It belongs to bacteria that live in an airless environment, oxygen has a destructive effect on it. However, this microorganism is very resistant due to its ability to form spores.In the form of spores, Clostridium tetani easily tolerates drying, freezing and even boiling. And when it gets into favorable conditions, the dispute goes into an active state.

Tetanus is a wound infection – the pathogen can enter the body through wounds, burn surfaces, and areas of frostbite. Clostridium tetani loves deep wounds, as it is possible to create an anoxic conditions in them.

Clostridium tetani produces a powerful biological poison – tetanus toxin, which affects the nervous system, causing convulsions.Muscle cramps last a long time, all the muscles of the body are involved in this: limbs, spine, face, larynx, heart.

Tetanus toxin disrupts the circulation of biologically active substances in the brain, damages the respiratory center and other vital structures.

Complications

In adults, the disease can be complicated by:

• ruptured muscles;

• avulsion of ligaments;

• bone fractures as a result of strong muscle contraction;

• bronchitis, pneumonia

• sepsis.

In children, tetanus is complicated by pneumonia, at a later date – by indigestion, anemia.

The most common causes of tetanus death are:

• choking as a result of prolonged spasm of the vocal cords or respiratory muscles;

• heart failure;

• spinal fracture, pain shock

Vaccination schedule for whooping cough, diphtheria and tetanus.

From 3 months – 3-fold vaccination with an interval of 45 days.

The first revaccination is a year after the third vaccination.

Subsequent booster vaccinations against diphtheria and tetanus at 7 and 14 years old,

then every 10 years without age limit.

90,000 The number of cases of whooping cough in Russia increased by 40% over the year :: Society :: RBC

In Russia, the number of cases of whooping cough increased by almost 40% over the year, most of the cases were recorded in Moscow.The chief epidemiologist of the Ministry of Health is sure that one of the main reasons for this is the refusal of parents to vaccinate their children.

Photo: Mikhail Pletsky / Global Look Press

The number of cases of whooping cough in Russia in 2019 amounted to 14 406 people, which is almost 40% more than in 2018 (10 421 cases).Compared to 2017, the incidence of whooping cough has increased 2.7 times, RBC found out, after analyzing the data of Rospotrebnadzor on infectious and parasitic diseases over the past four years. The data were provided by Rosstat at the request of the editors.

In January 2020, 1,758 people fell ill with whooping cough in Russia. Most of them (89%) are children under 14 years old.

Despite the fact that more than 95% of the population have been vaccinated against whooping cough, their incidence in the country continues to grow, the chief epidemiologist of the Ministry of Health, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Nikolai Briko confirmed to RBC.According to him, a third of the sick children received a full course of vaccination, almost half were not vaccinated. According to the preventive vaccination calendar, whooping cough is vaccinated at the age of three months, at four and a half months and at a year and a half.

“It has now been revealed that already four to five years after vaccination, immunity weakens and the person again becomes vulnerable to whooping cough. In this regard, more than half of all cases of whooping cough in Russia are registered in children aged three to 14 years, ”he said.