Introduction of Whooping Cough (Kali Khanshi)
Whooping cough or pertussis is a highly infectious respiratory illness with deadly outcomes, primarily to expecting women and infant children. Pertussis was named so because the “whooping” sound it makes is a sigh of relief after undergoing spasms of extreme coughing in between which forces patients to do so as patients are no longer capable of breathing. Whooping cough due to Bordetella pertussis infection is a highly contagious bacterial disease that infects everyone regardless of any age group and propagates like light at the speed of light by sneezing and coughing. But most dangerous to infants under one year of age, who are likely to be under the age of immunization, and to expecting women because the disease can result in maternal and fetal complications.
The disease is about to begin with nothing more than symptoms of a cold and then proceed to relentless rounds of intractable spasm cough that last for weeks or months. Spasm coughing has even resulted in vomiting, dyspnea, and fatigue. In babies, the disease can lead to pneumonia, seizure, brain damage, or death.
Vaccination appeared to not prevent the transmission of whooping cough as an preventable cause of illness in infants, according to research from The Lancet Infectious Diseases (2018). This aligns with the infant and pregnancy immunization imperative against prevention of severe illness and decrease of transmission.
Whooping cough or pertussis is a highly risky infant infection that progresses on the basis of infection with Bordetella pertussis and spreads easily as airborne droplets on sneeze or coughing by the patient. It affects babies most severely because their immunity has not yet been established and they may even be so immature as not to have developed immunity on completion of the course of vaccines.
Babies either have or don’t have the child and adult’s characteristic “whoop.” They have a very raspy and harsh cough which leads them to gag on air. They get red- or blue-faced because they cannot hold in sufficient air. Refusal of feed, not breathing (apnea), cough vomit, and weakness are some of the infant presentations.
While the cold or flu is getting worse and acute, whooping cough is worsening and gradual. While the cold will resolve in a few days, whooping cough persists for weeks and months and restricts eating, sleeping. And breathing in infants.
It is one of the requirements for early diagnosis because the disease progresses rapidly within infancy. The antibiotic therapy in the early stages can be used to reduce the milder symptoms and avoid secondary spread. Pertussis is hard to diagnose early because the symptoms at the beginning can be a milder illness.
Parents must visit the doctor right away if the infant suffers from chronic cough, difficulty in breathing, apnea, sucking difficulties, or weakness. Doctor visits early will cast away the diseases of the infant and avoid very severe complications like pneumonia, seizure, and very rarely, death.
What is Whooping Cough in Adults?
Whooping cough or pertussis is not a childhood illness—adults, particularly those who are non-recently vaccinated or whose immunity has weakened over the years, are the victims. Persons can be immunized with the vaccine given early in infancy, but immunity wanes progressively after 5–10 years of incubation period and renders most adults susceptible to infection. Adult-to-adult transmission of whooping cough is by direct contact with the patient, particularly at home, in the workplace, or in a health-care facility.
Adults present the disease as chronic cold or chronic bronchitis. The dry, chronic hacking cough that lasts for months or weeks is the most common presentation. The “whoop” does not occur in adults. It is therefore even harder to diagnose. Paroxysmal cough that is intractable, tiredness caused by coughing, and occasionally nausea or rib pain from spasmodic coughing are some of the other presenting signs and symptoms.
Even though adults in the overwhelming majority of instances have a normal course of recovery, they are still carriers of the disease—i.e., to susceptible hosts like infants who are not yet immunizable. Adults are usually the primary reservoir of pertussis transmission to infants.
Adult complications, though less probable than in childhood, are pneumonia, cracked ribs, or hernia. Risk for a worse course increases with age or impaired immunity status. When vaccinating contacts, i.e., neonates and expecting women, as well as themselves, adults also need a Tdap booster dose. Aside from enhancing immunity, it avoids the silent spread of very infectious disease.
What is Pregnancy Whooping Cough?
Whooping cough or pertussis is especially risky for expecting women—not just for herself but also the unborn baby. Expecting women with whooping cough can get successive waves of coughing spells, which will lead to respiratory illness, insomnia, and even premature labor. The biggest risk, however, is infecting the newborn, for whom they are most vulnerable to fatal illnesses like pneumonia, brain damage, or death.
Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, acellular pertussis) is the ideal baby and mom protection, one pregnancy at a time, between 27 and 36 weeks of age. It makes the mother’s body produce antibodies that are passed from her body, through the placenta, to the baby, providing passive immunity to the newborn baby during the first few months of life—before the baby is well enough along to receive his own shots.
Expecting women have also been able to stop her baby from becoming infected with pertussis by over 90% in the first two months of life, the CDC reminds us. It will also stop her from getting serious complications if the baby is infected.
Prevention and control in expecting women are:
- Tdap vaccine each time she gets pregnant.
- Coaching family members and close caregivers to remain current on Tdap vaccinations (“cocooning” strategy).
- Prevention of exposure to other individuals showing signs of respiratory illness or chronic cough.
- Adhering to good hygiene such as regular hand washing and coughing into an elbow or a handkerchief.
It greatly reduces expecting women and newborn infants’ exposure to whooping cough, particularly protection during the most vulnerable phase in an infant’s life.
What is the Treatment of Whooping Cough?
Management. pertussis (whooping cough) varies based on the severity and progression of illness but generally involves antibiotics and early treatment to eradicate the disease and avert complications—most notably in infants.
Treatment Options
Newborns: Newborn babies under the age of or up to 12 months are at greatest risk and typically will need to be hospitalized, especially when they have respiratory, feeding, or apnea (recurrent pause in breathing) distress. In the hospital, they may be given oxygen, intravenous fluids, and close observation.
Children and Adults: Children and older individuals will normally be treated at home unless their illness becomes severe. But they must be kept under observation, especially if they are infecting unborn babies or infants.
Role of Antibiotics
The best time to give erythromycin or azithromycin antibiotics is when the illness starts—before coughing. Antibiotics won’t prevent cough from happening, but will decrease infectiousness of the patient and the patient will not be contagious anymore.
Home Care Instructions
- Try to utilize a humidifier for easy breathing and coughing spell prevention.
- Increase fluid intake and stay hydrated by consuming more fluids.
- Provide rest and work rest as tiredness will exacerbate the cough.
- Frequency and small bolus feeds will avoid vomiting due to severe coughing.
Early Diagnosis is of significance
Sooner the better: pertussis treatment. Early diagnosis means less days of illness and infectivity period.
Hospital Admission
Even in the very severe cases—particularly in infants—hospital stay must be arranged. This proviso allows a round-the-clock attendance, oxygenation, and supervision of resulting complications like fits or pneumonia.
What is Whooping Cough Disease?
Whooping cough or pertussis is a highly infectious respiratory disease brought about by Bordetella pertussis bacteria. Pertussis is also a respiratory disease that infects respiratory tracts and lungs and ends in a long cough lasting from months to weeks. Pertussis kills the majority of humans when they were infants and immunosuppressed victims.
How It Spreads
Pertussis is spread by droplet infection by sneezing, coughing, or merely talking. Highly infectious without the vaccine or booster, it will infect nearly any body that it comes into contact with.
Stages of the Disease
Catarrhal Stage (1–2 weeks):
Washes away with scarcely a cold-symptom-like—running nose, low fever, coughing on-and-off. Most infectious.
Paroxysmal Stage (2–6 weeks):
Characterized by paroxysms of chronic cough, usually with high-pitched “whoop” on inspiration. Shortness of breath, vomiting, and weakness are characteristic.
Convalescent Stage (weeks to months):
The cough resolves eventually, but recovery is prolonged. Other individuals will cough for weeks.
Prevention Measures
- Vaccination: DTaP in children and Tdap booster in adults and expecting women are the optimal methods to prevent pertussis.
- Good hygiene: Frequent hand washing, avoiding the ill, and sneezing and coughing into the mouth dissuades the spread.
- Cocooning strategy: Vaccination of the exposed person.
Long-Term Effects if Not Treated
The cough, if not treated, results in such complications as pneumonia, seizures, brain damage, weight loss, fracturing of a rib from forceful repeated coughing, and death—always usually in infancy. Immunization and early treatment prevent the complications.
Conclusion
Whooping cough should be diagnosed based on its sign, aetiology, and course as such in order to treat them at the earliest. The most effective protection against whooping cough is prevention through immunization. DTaP vaccination at infancy and adulthood, particularly during pregnancy, immunizes not only the person but also those that are around him or her, i.e., infants, who are most prone to severe disease.
Prevention among high-risk patients begins at the individual level: updated immunization, good personal hygiene, and seeking the advice of a doctor when there is chronic cough or dyspnea. Early therapy followed by therapy is what provides the advantage toward prevention of life-threatening illness and spread as well. With practice and knowledge, we can all come together to prevent whooping cough from spreading and ensure our most sensitive and weakest members’ health is protected.
FAQs
Will whooping cough heal on its own?
It will get better eventually or earlier, but it might last for months and be annoying side effects—especially in infants.
For how long will I be sick with a whooping cough?
Whooping cough lasts 6 to 10 weeks, maybe longer, and it occurs in three stages.
Can I breastfeed my baby if I have a whooping cough?
Yes, but wear a mask and wash your hands so that you do not transmit the disease to your baby.
Will people who have been immunized catch whooping cough?
Yes, but immunization will generally be less severe and less likely to cause serious complications than immunization.
