What is whooping cough?

Whopping cough or pertussis is a contagious, vaccine preventable respiratory disease caused by the bacteria, Bordetella pertussis. Many babies, young children and adolescents who get whooping cough are infected by siblings, parents or other care givers who don’t know they have it.

Lets take a look at what whooping cough is, its causes, treatment and prevention.

📝 What is whooping cough?

Whooping cough is a bacterial infection named after the sound of someone taking a deep breath after a fit of coughing. It spreads very easily through close contact and can sometimes cause serious illness.

How is whooping cough spread?

A person is infected when they breathe in micro droplets infected with the bacteria through their nose or mouth. The bacterial cells enter the upper respiratory tract and attach to ciliated cells and start to produce toxins. The toxins damage airways, rapidly reproducing, causing swollen airways and increased mucus production. This results in coughing periods of increased intensity. Symptoms worsen and the bacteria continues to be passed on to other people through respiratory droplets in the air from sneezing, coughing and speaking.

Symptoms of whopping cough

Stage 1 lasts about 1–2 weeks and resembles symptoms of a common cold:

• Runny nose
• Sneezing
• Sore throat
• Slight fever
• Mild cough

Stage 2 lasts around 1 week

• Rapid severe coughing bouts, followed by a distinctive whoop sound
• Vomiting thick mucus after coughing spells
• Young babies and children may not cough, but may have difficulty breathing instead

Stage 3 lasts 2–3 weeks

• There is a gradual improvement in coughing fits and severity
• The cough becomes milder and less frequent
• Coughing fits may stop for a while, but they can return when you get another respiratory infection

🏥 Complications

Full recovery is usual, but serious complications can be life-threatening for infants younger than 6 months old.

• Infants may have a pause in their breathing, called apnea, dehydration, pneumonia, seizures and brain damage
• In older children and adults they may develop sore ribs, a hernia, middle ear infections or urinary incontinence

🩺 Diagnosis

Your doctor can diagnose you based on your medical history and a physical examination. Your healthcare provider may also request blood tests or a throat swab to confirm the presence of the bacterial infection to distinguish it from other health conditions.

💊 Treatment

Whopping cough is treated with appropriate antibiotics to help prevent the bacteria spreading to others and to reduce symptoms.

Other measures that can help include:

• Lots of fluids
• Plenty of rest
• Small frequent meals to avoid vomiting
• Avoiding taking cold and cough medicines, unless prescribed by a healthcare professional
• Keeping away from things that may trigger a cough

Isolate yourself

• If someone in your household has whooping cough keep them isolated from others, especially from infants, people with health conditions and individuals who have not been vaccinated

📝 Prevention

The best way to prevent whopping cough is to be vaccinated. The whooping cough vaccine or pertussis vaccine is recommended by the NHS for:

• Babies at 8, 12 and 16 weeks of age. It is called the 6-in-1 vaccine Vaccination also protects against diphtheria, tetanus, polio, Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type b) and hepatitis B
• Children aged 3 years 4 months of age. It is called the 4-in-1 pre-school booster
• Pregnant women around 20 weeks, to helps protect the baby for the first few weeks of their life. Antibodies are transferred through the placenta, providing short term protection until the baby can receive their own vaccine

📝 How does the whooping cough vaccine work

The whooping cough vaccine contains bacteria that have been killed, so they are unable to multiply and give you the disease. When you’re injected, your body starts to make antibodies to fight off the bacteria, even though they’re not alive. Young children may need several injections to produce this response. When your child is given their booster jab, their body recognises the whooping cough bacteria and makes more antibodies quicker. If they come into contact with the whooping cough infection later, their immune system is ready to respond.

What are the side effects of the whooping cough vaccine?

After having the whooping cough vaccine you may have some mild side effects such as swelling, redness or tenderness at the injection site, a temperature, nausea and loss of appetite, tiredness and headache.

📝 Conclusion

If you or your child develops symptoms of whooping cough especially if the coughing starts to become severe, it is important to see a doctor straight away. Early diagnosis and antibiotic treatment can reduce the severity of symptoms and prevent the spread of disease to others.

Sources

• Whooping cough – NHS
• Whooping cough – Symptoms & causes – Mayo Clinic
• Whooping Cough (Pertussis): Causes, Symptoms & Prevention
• Whooping cough | Health topics A to Z – CKS – NICE
• Pertussis (Whooping Cough) | Whooping Cough – CDC