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Pertussis
Pertussis (Whooping Cough)
Pertussis (Whooping Cough)
Pertussis is known for uncontrollable, violent coughing which often makes it hard to breathe. After fits of many coughs, someone with pertussis often needs to take deep breaths which result in a “whooping” sound. Pertussis most commonly affects infants and young children and can be fatal, especially in babies less than 1 year of age. |
Pertussis Clinical Complications
Pertussis Clinical Complications
Pertussis clinical complications for infants, children, adolescents and adults. |
Pertussis Clinical Details
Pertussis Clinical Details
Pertussis is an acute infectious disease caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis. In the 20th century, pertussis was one of the most common childhood diseases and a major cause of childhood mortality in the United States. Before the availability of pertussis vaccine in the 1940s, more than 200,000 cases of pertussis were reported annually. Since widespread use of the vaccine began, incidence has decreased more than 80% compared with the pre-vaccine era. |
Pertussis Information
Pertussis Information
Pertussis, or whooping cough, is an acute infectious disease |
Pertussis Surveillance & Reporting
Pertussis Surveillance & Reporting
Pertussis is nationally-notifiable and cases should be reported to the appropriate health department. Pertussis cases are reported by states to CDC through the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System. Although many pertussis cases are not diagnosed and therefore not reported, the surveillance system is useful for monitoring epidemiologic trends. The limitations of laboratory diagnostics make the clinical case definition essential to pertussis surveillance. It is important to determine duration of cough — specifically whether it lasts 14 days or longer — in order to determine if a person's illness meets the definition of a clinical case. |
Pregnancy and Whooping Cough CDC
Pregnancy and Whooping Cough CDC
This page on the Centers for Disease Control website offers information about pregnancy and whooping cough (pertussis). |