The whooping cough has come back this time a year. However you and your loved ones do not have to fall prey to it. Make sure to catch it early. As per whoopingcough.net, "Whooping cough is a contagious bacterial disease chiefly affecting children and characterized by convulsive coughs followed by a whooping cough.”
The bacteria is not one that is caught from outside. According to the source, people can usually identify who gave it to them:
“From somebody else who has it. The bacteria that cause it are carried in the lungs, throat and nose. So for you to catch it you have to inhale the bacteria that somebody else has coughed out. They do not live outside the body and so it has to be somebody who has coughed into the same air that you are breathing.
Although contacts in the same house are likely to get it, it can also pass easily between friends, especially children. It does not pass so easily between adults, who tend to cough away from people rather than directly over them. It is most infectious in the first 2 weeks when it seems no different from an ordinary cough and cold.”
Whooping cough is much more serious than a ordinary cough and it may not be easy to differentiate between the two, states Dr. Richard Krieger, chairman of the Infection Control Committee at Chilton Hospital.
"In the first one to two weeks of the illness, it can look like a common cold," Krieger says, explaining, "Unless there is a history of exposure to a family member or other close contact with whooping cough, it is very hard to differentiate at this point. When the cough develops, it generally occurs as severe paroxysms (sudden attacks) which can be followed by characteristic "whoop" (typically in children 6 months to 5 years old) on inhalation after a coughing spell. If a cough lasts over 14 days in the setting of an outbreak, that raises suspicion.
"There are lab tests that can identify the infection or the bacteria (bordetella pertussis) can be identified on culture of respiratory secretions, but these tests will not give an immediate diagnosis, as it may take days to get the results," Krieger says. "Generally, x-rays are not helpful.
"Whooping cough is very contagious. Up to 80 to 90 percent of susceptible persons who are exposed to it will develop the infection," states Krieger.
Whooping cough is not something to be overly frightened of as it is preventable. There are vaccines available.
Emedicinehealth.com recommends the following preventative measures be implemented:
· “Both frequent hand washing and the use of masks will help lessen the likelihood that the bacteria will spread to other members of a household where someone has whooping cough. Also avoid touching your nose or mouth, and introducing the bacteria you may have picked up, during outbreaks.
· For children, follow the recommended vaccine schedule for the DTaP (diphtheria,tetanus, pertussis) inoculations. Shots are given at the ages of 2 months, 4 months, 6 months, 15-18 months, and 4-6 years of age for full immunity, according to theAmerican Academy of Pediatrics; however, vaccine immunity generally wanes after six to 10 years and does not result in permanent immunity, which is why a pertussis booster shot is needed.
· In 2005, the U.S. government approved Tdap, the first pertussis booster shot for children 10-18 years of age. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) of the Centers for Disease Control recommends one dose of Tdap in place of one Td booster.
· For adults 19-64 years, the ACIP recommends a single dose of Tdap.”
"A few years ago, the state of New Jersey made it a requirement for children entering middle school to receive the Tdap booster before sixth grade," says Donna Dericks, school nurse at Hillview Elementary School in Pompton Plains. "Fortunately, I've only seen maybe two cases of whooping cough in the past five years."
If someone does contract whooping cough, Krieger says that "antibiotic therapy, such as Erythromycin or Clarithromycin, will help if given early in the course of the infection. However, usually by the time the characteristic cough develops it is too late to have an effect on the course of the illness, though it can at least decrease the period of contagiousness.
"In the general population, there has been a rise in whooping cough cases in recent years. Adults generally don't get too sick from whooping cough that they can't function. Healthy older children won't get disabled from the cough, but they do tend to spread it. Whooping cough is much more serious in young children. Immunization is the way to go to prevent whooping cough."
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