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Could it be whooping cough?
1Central Coast Area Health Services, Gosford, NSW.
Insights
Pertussis, a serious illness in young children, is often spread by adults with atypical symptoms. Early diagnosis and erythromycin treatment are key, alongside high vaccination coverage to prevent pertussis spread.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Infectious Diseases
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Pertussis (whooping cough) is an uncommon yet severe infectious disease primarily impacting children under five.
- Adults and older children often transmit pertussis, frequently presenting with atypical symptoms like a cough mistaken for other conditions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the epidemiology, clinical presentation, and management strategies for pertussis.
- To discuss the role of prophylaxis in controlling pertussis outbreaks.
Main Methods:
- Literature review and synthesis of existing data on pertussis.
- Analysis of clinical case presentations and treatment outcomes.
Main Results:
- Pertussis is characterized by a hacking cough, often nocturnal and progressing to paroxysms, typically without fever in children.
- Erythromycin is identified as the primary treatment for affected children and their close contacts.
Conclusions:
- High vaccination coverage (90%) is crucial for pertussis eradication.
- Booster vaccinations are recommended due to waning immunity 6-10 years post-vaccination.
Background:
Pertussis is an uncommon but serious illness, mainly affecting children under the age of 5 years.
Objective:
Affected children usually contract the disease from older children or adults in whom the disease presents in an atypical way, their coughing being attributed to other aliments. This article discusses the epidemiology, clinical course and management of pertussis. Prophylaxis is also discussed.
Discussion:
Pertussis presents as a hacking, mostly nocturnal cough, before becoming constant and occurring in paroxysms. Even though children appear sick, they classically are afebrile. Erythromycin is the treatment of choice for affected children and their immediate family. Achieving a 90% vaccination coverage would eradicate pertussis, but booster vaccinations later in life have been proposed since the protection of vaccination wanes rapidly over a period of 6-10 years.