by Walter Little

Created on: January 08, 2011   Last Updated: January 09, 2011

Pertussis – also known as whooping cough – is a highly contagious disease caused by the Bordetella pertussis bacterium. Some cases have been documented to last for six (6) weeks before subsiding. Whooping cough is so-named because of the “whoop” sound made from the inspiration of air following a coughing spell. Although it's been described as a “high-pitched sound”, this is generally only the case with infected infants and children, and not adults.

What about the vaccine?

The Pertussis vaccine is highly effective, strongly recommended, and saves many lives each year. Generally, the duration of protection is between five (5) and ten (10) years – which covers childhood which is the time of greatest exposure and greatest risk2 immunization at the ages of two (2), four (4), and six (6) months and again – as a single booster – between the ages of three (3) and four (4) years.

The short-term effectiveness of the vaccine coupled with the presence of the B. pertussis infection in both adults and adolescents has caused many in the medical field to call for booster immunizations at later ages. Although Canada, France, the United States, and Germany now have booster shots that are approved for adolescents, adults, or both, other countries continue to adhere to the tradition of discontinuing the pertussis vaccine after age seven. The reasoning behind this stems from concerns regarding side effects associated with the first generation “whole-cell” pertussis immunization which tend to increase as the recipient ages.

The overall effect of not vaccinating older persons is the emergence of a large pool of persons who lack immunity. This factor, combined with an increase in the number of cases of adult on-set pertussis, raises a concern in the medical field that newborns are at a much greater risk of contracting the disease before the needed immunizations can be completed.

Advent of the new acellular vaccine – known as DTaP – has spurred an effort to resume immunizing teens and adults. This renewed effort is due, at least in part, to a reduction in the incidence of adverse side effects observed with the “wholesale” pertussis vaccine. They are recommended for all teens and adults except for those with a history of adverse reaction to the whole-cell pertussis vaccines.

What are the symptoms of Pertussis?

The classic symptoms of pertussis include a paroxysmal cough4 . The usual incubation

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