Essay On Pertussis

Pertussis also known as Whooping cough, is a contagious respiratory disease caused by a bacteria called Bordetella pertussis (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2015).Outbreaks of pertussis were first documented in the 16th century, and the disease was first isolated in 1906. The tall tell sign of having this disease is by severe hacking and intake of breath, sounding like a “whoop”. Once becoming infected with whooping cough, it can take up to ten full days for it to become active. Not all symptoms become active at one time, it starts with a fever, congestion, watery eyes, and a cough. If symptoms are not treated directly and caught before worsening, reddening or bluing of the face, vomiting, extreme fatigue and a “whooping” sound when inhaling will occur(Faulkner, MPH et al., 2014). It can take up to a full month for the disease to run its full course and if not caught in time, Pertussis can result in death. The most common age group affected by this communicable disease is young children, predominantly under one year in age. In the twentieth century, pertussis was one of the most common childhood diseases, and one of the leading cause of childhood mortality in the United States (CDC, …show more content…
Children can cough several times before breathing, resulting in low oxygen levels and hospitalization. Hospitalization generally accuses when children contract this disease early in life, within the first six months, most deaths due to pertussis happen in young infants. Approximately 50 out of every 10,000 children younger than 1 year of age who develop pertussis die from the disease("Immunizations for Public Health – Pertussis (Whooping Cough)," 2015). Unlike other vaccine preventable diseases, pertussis continues to circulate in the population even though most people have received the recommended vaccination. Being one of the most contagious human