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Whooping Cough
Protecting Our Children From Pertussis
By Teri Brown
It's hard to believe whooping cough still exists. Most people are under the impression that whooping cough has gone the way of polio – we are immunized and there is no real threat. Well, guess what? Whooping cough – or pertussis, as it's formally known as – is back, and this time it's targeting teenagers and young adults.
Betty Hasman, a middle school teacher in Tucson, Ariz., remembers a whooping cough outbreak that began at the beginning of last year and lingered for months. "We had our first official case mid-January," she says. "The administration sent home a letter warning everyone. I don't know how many kids were afflicted; my guess is about 15 to 20 in a school of 200."
When Hasman herself came down with pertussis her doctor misdiagnosed the condition and gave her the wrong antibiotic. She switched doctors a few weeks later as her symptoms worsened. The new medicines made her feel better, but the cough lasted for three months. Her experience as she watched her students struggling with the same problems made her a believer in pertussis booster shots.
"I would recommend that teens and adults get the booster," says Hasman. "If you had the series as a baby, immunity is gone by the time you are about 11. My former doctor didn't realize this."
"The initial symptoms of whooping cough are similar to the common cold with a mild fever, runny nose and a cough," says Will. "These symptoms generally progress to more severe coughing episodes. For infants, the cough is typically followed by a high-pitched 'whoop,' followed by vomiting. In older children the 'whoop' is often not present, but the cough is noticeably severe and comes in spasms. Severe coughing spells can last up to three months."