If the cough is severe and lasts for a long time, you must be careful about this disease

There are a lot of people coughing recently.

Some are due to mycoplasma,

Some are due to the flu...

One of them lasts a long time.

Whooping cough is a very unpleasant disease.

It cannot be ignored either.

From January to December 2023, a total of 38,205 cases of pertussis were reported nationwide. The incidence rate increased significantly starting in July, with a total of 9,126 cases reported in December, as shown in the figure below.

Figure 2023 National pertussis reporting situation from January to December

A statistical analysis was conducted on the national pertussis case reports in the past 15 years. Except for the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic prevention and control in 2020-2022, the number of reported pertussis cases nationwide showed a clear upward trend , as shown in the figure below.

Figure 1. National pertussis reporting in the past 15 years

What is whooping cough? How can we diagnose it? How can we prevent it?

No.1What is whooping cough?

Whooping Cough (Pertussis, Whooping Cough) is an acute respiratory infectious disease caused by infection with Bordetella Pertussis .

It is characterized by paroxysmal spasmodic cough and a deep "cock-crowing"-like inspiratory echo at the end of the cough. The course of the disease often lasts for 2-3 months, so it is called whooping cough.

The general population is susceptible. Among them, children under 5 years old are the most susceptible . The incidence of whooping cough rises periodically, with an annual incidence rate of (0.32-0.68)/100,000. If not treated in time, a small number of children will develop pneumonia and encephalitis and die.

Young infants are susceptible to whooping cough, and infants and young children who have not reached the immunization age or have not completed the full course of vaccination are at high risk.

It is mainly transmitted through respiratory droplets . When patients, latently infected persons and carriers cough, talk or sneeze, the bacteria-carrying respiratory secretions are discharged into the surrounding air. Healthy people can be infected by inhaling a certain amount of pathogens.

No.2

How do you know if your child is infected with whooping cough?

Clinical manifestations of whooping cough

In the early stage of the disease, there are symptoms such as low fever, cough, sneezing, and tearing . At first, it is a single dry cough. After 2 to 3 days of fever, the cough intensifies, especially at night. After the 7th to 14th day, the fever subsides and paroxysmal spasmodic coughs appear, often with 10 to 30 short coughs, followed by deep and long inhalations. When inhaling, the air passes through the narrow and tense vocal cords and makes a "chicken-like" wheezing sound . Then a series of coughing fits are repeated until a large amount of sticky phlegm is coughed up or vomited out with the stomach contents. Spasmodic coughs are often obvious at night. Older children and adults may not have typical spasmodic coughs.

Does whooping cough really last for 100 days?

Typical whooping cough goes through a catarrhal phase, a spasmodic cough phase, and a recovery phase, and the cough can last for nearly 100 days . Timely and standardized treatment can shorten the course of the disease.

No.3How to treat whooping cough?

If your child shows the above clinical manifestations, see a doctor immediately .

If you have whooping cough, the earlier you treat it, the better the effect!

No.4How to prevent whooping cough?

Although whooping cough is "fierce", parents can prevent it in the following ways:

Vaccination

Vaccination is one of the important methods to prevent whooping cough. Children in China are vaccinated with one dose each at 3, 4, 5 and 18 months of age . Vaccines containing pertussis components include: adsorbed acellular diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus vaccine (abbreviated as " DTP vaccine "), acellular diphtheria, pertussis and Haemophilus influenzae type b combined vaccine (abbreviated as " quadruple vaccine "), and adsorbed acellular diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus inactivated poliomyelitis and Haemophilus influenzae type b (combined) combined vaccine (abbreviated as " pentavalent vaccine ").

Cut off the transmission route

Control the source of infection and cut off the transmission route. Patients should be promptly isolated and treated at home or in hospital according to the doctor's instructions (isolation until 5 days after effective antibacterial drug treatment or 21 days after spasmodic cough), and wear a mask until the cough disappears.

The patient's room should be regularly ventilated by opening windows, wet-sweeping, and frequent drying of clothes and quilts. Terminal disinfection is not necessary. Chlorine-containing preparations such as bleaching powder can be used to disinfect the patient's sputum and vomitus.

Post-exposure prevention is recommended for the following groups: infants and young children who have not received a full course of pertussis vaccines, close contacts in the family and childcare institutions, staff of childcare institutions with a clear history of exposure, caregivers of infants and young children, and medical workers in neonatal wards. Within 21 days after exposure (if possible within 1 to 2 weeks after exposure), receive drug prevention or emergency vaccination (there is no pertussis vaccine for children over 6 years old and adults in my country), and the drug selection, dosage, and course of treatment are the same as those for treatment.

Whooping cough is not scary. Take good personal protection and get vaccinated as early as possible. Children can be protected early and parents can feel at ease early!

Source: National Health Commission Dongguan Disease Control

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