Having whooping cough does not give you life-long immunity. Therefore, you should use booster vaccinations. Thanks to this, we will protect the youngest from this serious infectious disease.
What Parents Need To Know About Whooping Cough? Are they aware that this is still a dangerous disease against which children should be vaccinated?
Parents, unlike grandparents, do not have such awareness. Grandmothers who remember when their children had whooping cough (this is another name for whooping cough) are able to recognize by the nature of their cough that it may be this disease. Parents, unfortunately, no. Therefore, it is necessary to constantly talk about how dangerous whooping cough is. And it is an acute infectious disease caused by bacteria and very contagious. It’s as contagious as measles and chicken pox.
Parents often forget that they themselves are a source of infection because they think, like part of society, that it is only a contagious childhood disease. It is not so. Anyone can get whooping cough – from a premature baby, through adolescents, to an elderly person. My youngest whooping cough patient was three weeks old and caught the infection from his coughing grandmother. The oldest patient was this very grandmother, who was 72 years old and was initially diagnosed with chronic bronchitis. But it was whooping cough.
What are the complications of whooping cough? Who is most at risk from them?
Whooping cough is a disease that especially affects the youngest. They do not have the typical coughing episodes, but may experience sudden apnea. The second group at risk of complications are seniors. In them, during a cough attack, a vessel in the central nervous system may rupture and, unfortunately, die. That is why we should talk about how dangerous whooping cough is.
Another serious complication is pneumonia. Here I would like to point out that whooping cough usually occurs without a fever. On the other hand, if – especially a small child – begins to have a fever, suffers from shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, then you have to think about the fact that these are complications of whooping cough.
Adults do not necessarily follow the normal course of the disease. It is sometimes just a prolonged cough that does not even prompt you to see a doctor. And these adults are the source of the infection.
Whooping cough is said to be a well-known cough disease.
Yes. Let me remind you that whooping cough has three stages. The first stage, the so-called initial, catarrhal symptoms, i.e. mild cough, runny nose, conjunctivitis, do not make us suspect whooping cough, unless we have an epidemiological history. We underestimate these symptoms because they are also typical of viral infections. Then there is a paroxysmal cough, mainly at night. It can be triggered by many factors in a child – feeding, watering, slamming doors, flashing lights. And then the baby starts coughing. This cough may last for three to four weeks. Sometimes the seizures are so severe that they end up with sticky mucus or vomiting, followed by a whistling sound and the baby calms down. Some children do not have this typical seizure.
During the recovery period, the cough slowly calms down, but it does not stop immediately and can last up to a hundred days. It is good for parents to know that if a child recovering from whooping cough becomes ill with a viral infection, the cough becomes more severe. They should be prepared for it.
You mentioned that adults are the source of the infection. They were vaccinated against whooping cough as a child, but booster vaccinations are needed. What time should we get a booster vaccination?
People are convinced that if they vaccinate their babies in infancy, in the second year of life, then with a booster dose in 6 and 14 years of age, it will be all right. It must be emphasized with all force: vaccination does not provide long-term immunity. Moreover, even if someone has had whooping cough, they should get vaccinated again. Generally, in 19. young people are vaccinated against diphtheria and tetanus as part of the mandatory Protective Immunization Program (PSO). Instead, it is worth using a vaccine intended for adults with a pertussis component. And basically every 10 years you should take it.
It is also important to remember to prevent whooping cough in the youngest. And the most common source of infection in newborns and young infants is mother. Therefore, the vaccine should be administered to pregnant women. The best time to vaccinate for them is considered to be between 27 and 36 weeks of gestation, preferably at the beginning of this period. Why so? So that there is a chance to make antibodies, pass them across the placenta to your baby, and protect them.
There have been many studies on the efficacy and safety of vaccination in pregnant women. It has proven to be safe and effective not only for pregnant women, but also for the developing baby.
Additionally, the recommendations say that women should be offered this vaccination in every pregnancy.
Are pertussis vaccines for adults different than for children?
Yes, they are different because they contain less of the acellular pertussis component. Half the time. Children’s vaccines are more reactogenic for adults. You don’t need such a large dose.
What are the 5-in-1 and 6-in-1 vaccines for children? What is their security profile?
These are wonderful vaccines. They all contain the acellular component of whooping cough. The 5-in-1 vaccine protects against diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough poliomyelitis (polio) and haemophilus influeznae type B (Hib). 6 in 1 provides additional protection against hepatitis B. These vaccines have a very carefully studied efficacy and safety profile. They can be used in premature babies, even the tiny ones with very little muscle mass. They contain fewer components such as solvent, preservative and therefore less antigens.
What are the statistics for whooping cough?
First, a bit of history. A record year for whooping cough deaths was 1955, when nearly 1 people died. kids. When we started vaccinating things got better. But whooping cough is still there. Because infants and children were once vaccinated in the second year of life. There were no booster doses.
Currently, we have the disease at the level of 1 thousand. up to 5 annually. The year in which significantly fewer cases were observed was 3 (over 2020 confirmed cases), because we had a lockdown, i.e. limitation of interpersonal contacts. Even though there are fewer of these cases, 700/1 of them still require hospitalization. Here again, a note – the data on whooping cough is underestimated. Due to the fact that it is not recognized correctly, whooping cough is not considered in older children, adolescents and adults. Not all cases of disease are reported.