Whooping cough: more than just a childhood disease



Munich (dpa) - Whooping cough is not a common illness in children,
but it poses a big risk to infants. They can contract the disease
from adults who often carry the pathogen. Doctors recommend adults
refresh their immunity to the disease every 10 years.

Whooping cough begins just like any other normal cough, but it
quickly develops into an uncontrollable fit of coughing, often
hitting at night. In the past, children frequently contracted the
disease. But, thanks to vaccination programmes, the number has fallen
considerably.

"Whooping cough is transmitted by contact with airborne droplets
of mucus," explains Thomas Loescher, head of the Department for
Infectious and Tropical Disease at the University of Munich. That
means the bacteria is often spread through coughing.

The disease is caused by a bacteria called bordetella pertussis.
"The bacteria is inhaled and reproduces in the body's air passages,"
says Loescher. "That's where they produce the pathogen that damages
cells and causes inflammation, especially in the bronchi."

At first the patient notices nothing unusual, says Ulrich Fegeler,
spokesman for Germany's Professional Association of Paediatricians.

The first symptoms emerge after a three to 12 day incubation
period. Over a period of about three weeks the cough gradually
becomes worse. In the following three weeks, the patient will
experience fits of coughing and sometimes shortness of breath.
Thereafter the disease subsides and coughing fits reduce.

Whooping cough can be very dangerous.

"Small children, and infants in particular, can develop a life-
threatening lung infection," warns Fegeler. The whooping cough
bacteria can also infect the diaphragm, causing it to contract and
make breathing impossible within seconds.

An effective vaccine against whooping cough was developed many
years ago. "The first vaccination is usually given nine weeks after
birth and is part of a combination of vaccines against a number of
child diseases," explains Ursel Lindlbauer-Eisenach, member of the
Permanent Vaccine Commission at the Robert Koch Institute in Berlin.

The first booster injection is given around the age of two and a
half, the second shortly before school begins at the age of five or
six. Teenagers should receive a third booster injection by age 17 and
adults should get at least one more.

"Most small children in Germany have been vaccinated," says
Lindlbauer-Eisenach. "We have a very high vaccination rate of over 90
per cent."

But that rate sinks in older age groups. "Teenagers and adults
have much lower rates of vaccination." What most people don't know is
that the whooping cough vaccination lasts for only 10 years, even if
you had the disease in the past.

"The danger is that an adult will get sick and spend weeks
coughing and then pass the illness onto a child or infant who is at
much greater risk." The Robert Koch Institute recommends adults get a
booster vaccination every 10 years, especially if they have a small
child in the family.


Copyright 2010 dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH

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