Pertussis (Whooping Cough)
Vaccine schedule for children 0-6
5 vaccines at 2 months, 4 months, 6 months, 15-18 months and 4-6 years. Pregnant women can also get a booster shot to protect their unborn babies until they can get immunized at 2 months old.
Complications
Transmission
Pertussis is only in humans and highly contagious. It's mainly spread by coughing, sneezing and sharing personal space with someone who is contagious. People are usually contagious for 2 weeks once they begin coughing.
Treatment
Whooping cough is treated with antibioics and it's important to treat it as soon as possible to prevent spreading the disease to anyone else. In very severe cases, hospitalization may be required. You should not give your child cough medicine, it is not effective for treating whooping cough. If your child needs to be treated at the hospital, they may require IV fluids to treat dehydration and oxygen treatment. ​
Pertussis can be deadly in babies, especially if they haven't been vaccinated.
Complications in older children and adults can include incontinence, loss of consciousness, rib fractures and weight loss.
Source: Centres for Disease Control and Prevention
Signs + Symptoms
Early Symptoms
Pertussis usually begins like a normal cold. Babies may experience pauses in their breathing called apnea. Around 50% of babies younger than 1 year old need to be hospitalized when infected with whooping cough.
For people who have been vaccinated, their cough wont last as long and they won't have as many coughing fits.
Early symptoms are apnea (in babies), low-grade fever, mild cough (no whooping sound) and runny nose.
Later-stage Symptoms
Later symptoms (1-2 weeks) include exhaustion after coughing fits, coughing fits with a whooping sound when inhaling and vomiting during or after coughing fits.
Pertussis in Babies
Babies experience pertussis much differently. Instead of coughing fits, many babies don't cough but instead they stop breathing and turn blue.