Pertussis

1. Pertussis ABDUN MATIN MD-3 Roll# 1232

3. Causes • It is caused by a bacterium called Bordetella pertussis. • Pertussis primarily affects children who hasn’t completed the vaccinations course and teenagers and adults whose immunity has faded. • Deaths with whooping cough most commonly occur in infants.

4. Incidence • It occurs in a lot in children of age less than 12 months. • It could also manifest the adolescent person. • Before the vaccines were made, this disease killed 5,000 to 10,000 people in the United States each year. • Now, vaccine has reduced the annual number of deaths to less than 30. But in recent years, the number of cases has started to rise.

5. Risk factors • Pertussis is highly contagious • Not being immunized • Living in the same house or having a close contact with someone infected with pertussis

6. Symptoms It symptoms are divided into three different stages: • First stage :These symptoms are shown by the body in first 1-2 week after infection. •Runny nose and congestion •Sneezing •Mild fever •Mild cough •Watery, red eyes

7. Second stage: This stage lasts 1-6 weeks, but it can also last longer. Symptoms include: •Severe coughing •Long episodes of coughing that start suddenly and may end with a forceful inhale or 'whoop‘ •In severe cases, coughing may cause a person to have trouble breathing or turn blue from lack of oxygen •Coughing could also induce vomiting.

8. Diagnosis • First the medical history will be done in which the doctor asks for the symptoms and physical exam would be done. • Swab of nose and throat for culture and other tests to detect the bacteria • Blood tests

9. Treatment • Pertussis is treated with antibiotics, which keeps the infection from spreading. They are effective in the early stages. Treatment with a macrolide (azithromycin, clarithromycin or erythromycin) effective for patients of all ages. • The following steps may help control symptoms and prevent complications: •Get plenty of rest •Use a cool mist vaporizer to loosen mucus and soothe the respiratory tract •Avoid irritants that trigger coughing, such as smoke or aerosol sprays •Drink plenty of fluids • In severe case then there patient should be Hospitalization.

10. Complications • In infants of less than 12 months age are hospitalized. Hospitalization is most common in infants younger than 6 months of age. The infants can have complications like: • apnea • pneumonia • seizures • die • encephalopathy (as a result of hypoxia from coughing or possibly from toxin) • In adults, they can have : Weight loss ,loss of bladder control, rib fractures from severe coughing.

11. Prevention The best way to prevent is by pertussis vaccines. • The vaccine consists of a series of five injections, and it is give in infancy to prevent the production of pertussis • Adolescents. Because immunity from the pertussis vaccine tends to wane by age 11, doctors recommend a booster shot at that age to protect against whooping cough (pertussis), diphtheria and tetanus. • Adults. Some varieties of the every-10-year tetanus and diphtheria vaccine also include protection against whooping cough (pertussis). • Pregnant women receive the pertussis vaccine between 27 weeks and 36 weeks of gestation. This gives protection to the infant during the first few months of life.

12. References 1)http://www.cdc.gov/pertussis/ 2)http://kidshealth.org/parent/infections/bacterial_viral/whooping_cough.html 3)http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/whooping-cough/basics/definition/con-20023295 4)http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/967268-overview 5)http://pediatrics.med.nyu.edu/conditions-we-treat/conditions/whooping-cough 6)https://www.clinicalkey.com/topics/pulmonology/pertussis.html