A bacterial infection of the
nose and throat caused by Bordetella pertussis.
The illness may begin with
cold-like symptoms which develop into a cough, or a person may simply begin
coughing. After several days, severe coughing bouts develop. Each coughing bout
has many coughs and may be followed by vomiting or a sudden, gasping inhalation
(whoop).
The coughing bouts can
continue for one to three months. Infants less than 3 months of age may not
cough; they may simply stop breathing. Adults and older children may not develop
a typical whoop or vomit after coughing. Whooping cough is particularly serious
in children under two years of age and hospitalisation is usually
necessary.
Diagnosis is made by clinical
examination, a blood test and sampling mucus from the nose and
throat.
Whooping cough is spread by
direct mucous membrane (lining of nose and throat) contact with infected
droplets from the nose and throat produced by coughing and
sneezing.
Incubation
period
Commonly 7-10 days and rarely
more than 14 days.
Infectious
period
Highly infectious when the
‘cold-like’ symptoms occur in the early stages. Without treatment, a person is
infectious for the first three weeks of coughing. With appropriate antibiotic
therapy, the person is no longer infectious to others five days after starting
antibiotics.
Control of
spread
- Timely immunisation of babies
and children under 8 years of age with 4 doses of the combined pertussis,
diphtheria and tetanus vaccine provides the best protection against whooping
cough. However, the protection provided by the vaccine decreases with age and
previously immunised older children and adults are at risk of infection.
- Treatment of the person with
whooping cough and their household contacts will reduce the spread of the
infection. It is important that anyone with suspicious symptoms see their doctor
so that an accurate diagnosis can be made and treatment commenced, if necessary.
- A person with whooping cough
should be excluded from child care, preschool, school or work until 5 days after
starting antibiotic treatment or if not treated, for 3 weeks from the start of
symptoms.
- Unimmunised contacts aged
under 7 years should be excluded from child care, preschool and school for 14
days after the last exposure to infection or until they have been on antibiotic
treatment for at least 5 days.
- Any child care, preschool,
school or work contacts of a person with whooping cough should seek medical
advice if they develop any symptoms.
In the case of a whooping
cough epidemic the guidelines for control of spread will change. The Department
of Health Human Services should be contacted for
recommendations.
Treatment
Appropriate antibiotic
therapy, given in the early stages of infection, may prevent or lessen the
severity of symptoms.
Whooping cough is a
notifiable disease.
Adapted with permission from
"You’ve got What?" Department of Human Services, South Australia.