Disease pertussis

What is pertussis?

Pertussis is a respiratory track infection and is also known as whooping cough. Whooping is a one type of sound that generates when person breathes in and it can affect at any age most common in children. Pertussis is a contagious disease and is caused by bacterial infection. Near about 30–50 million patients and 300,000 deaths in each year are found. And this condition is due to incomplete vaccination, for that there must be need of three doses of DTP.

Causes of pertussis

• Bacterial infection is the main cause of the pertussis disease.
• Any type of infections like water infection, air infection may cause the pertussis.
• Simple coughing may also turns into whooping.

Symptoms of pertussis

• Runny nose, fever, repeated cough, breathing difficulty, vomiting are the common symptoms of the pertussis.
• Whooping is the major symptom of the pertussis in which generation of sound take place when patient takes a breath.
• If there is continuous coughing for more than one minute, the child may becomes red.
• Also in some patients there is possibility of ear infection, dehydration.

What are the treatments for pertussis?

• In U.S. they make use of three macrolides which are erythromycin, azithromycin and clarithromycin for the treatment of pertussis.
• Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole is an alternative for macrolides if ineffective.
• Vaccines are also available that are the combination of filamentous hemagglutinin and pertussis toxin.
• There is also use of antibiotics like erythromycin and amoxicillin that helps to remove symptoms.
• Babies require constant observation because breathing may temporarily stop while coughing.
• There may be use of high humidity oxygen tent in some cases.