Vaccines to Prevent Pertussis
The best way to prevent pertussis (whooping cough) among infants, children, teens, and adults is to get vaccinated. Also, keep infants and other people at high risk for whooping cough complications away from infected people.
There are vaccines for children, pre-teens, teens, and adults. The childhood vaccine is called DTaP, and the pertussis booster vaccine for adolescents and adults is called Tdap. These are combination vaccines that protect against three diseases: diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis.
Getting vaccinated against pertussis is especially important for families with and caregivers of new infants.
Note: Upper-case letters in these vaccine abbreviations denote full-strength doses of diphtheria (D) and tetanus (T) toxoids and pertussis (P) vaccine. Lower-case “d” and “p” denote reduced doses of diphtheria and pertussis used in the adolescent/adult-formulations. The “a” in DTaP and Tdap stands for “acellular”, meaning that the pertussis component contains only a part of the pertussis organism.
Pertussis, a respiratory illness commonly known as whooping cough, is a very contagious disease caused by a type of bacteria called Bordetella pertussis. Pertussis is found only in humans and is spread from person to person. People with pertussis usually spread the disease by coughing or sneezing while in close contact with others, who then breathe in the pertussis bacteria.
Many infants who get pertussis are infected by older siblings, parents or caregivers who might not even know they have the disease. Symptoms of pertussis usually develop within seven to ten days after being exposed, but sometimes not for as long as six weeks.
Pertussis causes severe coughing spells, vomiting, and disturbed sleep. It can lead to weight loss, incontinence, rib fractures and passing out from violent coughing. Although you are often exhausted after a coughing fit, you usually appear fairly well in-between. Coughing fits generally become more common and severe as the illness continues, and can occur more often at night. The illness can be milder (less severe) and the typical "whoop" absent in children, teens, and adults who have been vaccinated.
Everyone is at risk for pertussis, but it is most severe for babies; more than half of infants less than one year of age who get the disease must be hospitalized. About one in five infants with pertussis get pneumonia (lung infection), and about one in a hundred will have convulsions. In rare cases (one in a hundred), pertussis can be deadly, especially in infants.
Up to two in 100 adolescents and five in 100 adults with pertussis are hospitalized or have complications, including pneumonia. The most common complications in a study of adults with pertussis were:
Getting vaccinated with DTaP or Tdap (depending on your age) is especially important for anyone who is around infants. Adults 65 years and older (grandparents, child care providers, and healthcare providers) who have close contact with infants should get a dose of Tdap, following the newest vaccine recommendations.
Remember that even fully-vaccinated children and adults can get pertussis. If you are caring for infants, check with your healthcare provider about what’s best for your situation.
Early symptoms can last for one to two weeks and usually include:
As the disease progresses, the traditional symptoms of pertussis may appear and include:
The coughing fits can go on for up to ten weeks or more.
denotes glossary term in text
Diphtheria: A bacterial disease marked by the formation of a false membrane, especially in the throat, which can cause death.
Tetanus: Toxin-producing bacterial disease marked by painful muscle spasms.
Acellular vaccine: A vaccine containing partial cellular material as opposed to complete cells.
Bacteria: Tiny one-celled organisms present throughout the environment that require a microscope to be seen. While not all bacteria are harmful, some cause disease. Examples of bacterial disease include diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, Haemophilus influenza and pneumococcus (pneumonia).
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