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Pertussis (Whooping Cough)
Pertussis is a bacterial infection that may present as a mild or serious disease. It is very easily passed from one infected individual to another and appears almost exclusively in nonimmunized infants (less than 1 year). About 4,500 cases of pertussis are reported each year in the US. Approximately 16 out of every 100 babies will contract pneumonia and 2 out of every 100 may have seizures. About 1 out of 200 babies infected with pertussis will die as a result of it. Vaccination with DPT vaccine has substantially decreased the incidence of this infection. Following an incubation period (time from exposure to the development of symptoms) of 6 to 20 days, symptoms begin with runny nose, mild cough, low grade fever, and mild conjunctivitis. For all practical purposes this illness early on appears as a common cold. After a week, the symptoms progress to sudden episodes of unrelenting coughing. At the end of a prolonged coughing spell one may hear the characteristic "whoop" caused by sudden forceful inspiration of air. The "whoop" is not always present in the infected infant. Treatment is with erythromycin, and patients are most often admitted to the hospital. The Pediatrician will be the expert in the treatment of this problem.
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