About whooping cough

Whooping cough is a highly contagious disease caused by Bordetella pertussis, a type of bacteria. It’s passed on through close personal contact, sneezing and coughing.

Whooping cough is also called pertussis.

Although children are routinely immunised against whooping cough, there are outbreaks of whooping cough from time to time.

Whooping cough symptoms

The whooping cough bacteria usually infects children 1-2 weeks before symptoms appear.

The early symptoms look like the symptoms of a cold. For around a week, children might have a runny nose, sneezing and occasionally a mild fever.

The cough develops gradually, children might have bouts of coughing that make it hard for them to breathe in. They might also make a ‘whooping’ sound at the end of coughing bouts as they gasp for a deep breath. The cough is commonly followd by vomiting and the child's face might  turn red.

The bouts of coughing get worse over the next two weeks, increasing both in severity and frequency. The coughing bouts can be exhausting, although children are usually comfortable between bouts.

The cough might hang around for months.

Children can be infectious for up to 21 days after the cough starts.

Children who have been immunised against whooping cough are much less likely to get the disease. If immunised children do get whooping cough, their symptoms are usually milder.

Whooping cough complications

In babies under six months of age, whooping cough often has serious complications including severe pneumonia and apnoeas (pauses in breathing). In young children, pneumonia is the most common complications.Death is rare and might happen almost only in unimmunised babies.

If your child has whooping cough and lost her appetite or is vomiting a lot with the coughing bouts, there’s a risk she might lose weight and get dehydrated.

Should you see your doctor about whooping cough?

Yes. You should take your child to the doctor if your child:

• has any of the symptoms described above
• has repeated and distressing coughing fits
• has a cough that lasts longer than two weeks
• has trouble breathing or struggles for breath after coughing fits
• turns blue around the mouth after coughing fits
• has a prolonged fever as well as a cough
• has a cough and also complains of a sore ear
• already has whooping cough and is losing weight or looks dehydrated.

If your baby is aged under six months and you notice pauses in his breathing, you should take him to a hospital emergency department or to the doctor immediately.

Whooping cough treatment

Antibiotics don’t usually help with whooping cough symptoms, although your doctor might prescribe antibiotics to help prevent your child from passing whooping cough to others. 

If the cough has lasted fewer than 21 days, your doctor might prescribe antibiotics because this treatment will reduce the length of time your child is infectious. This means your child can go back to child care, preschool or school earlier, usually after five days of antibiotics.

If the cough is severe and causes breathing difficulties, or if your child is less than six months old, your doctor might recommend a hospital stay for close nursing care. If the disease is severe enough for hospital admission, your child will be given antibiotics.

Other people in the house might be prescribed antibiotics to stop them catching whooping cough.

If your child hasn’t been treated with antibiotics, she shouldn’t go back to child care, preschool or school for 21 days after the cough starts.

Whooping cough prevention

The best way to avoid whooping cough is to have your child immunised. immunisation against whooping cough usually start at 6-8 weeks wtih repeated doses during the following months and years.

Immunity against whooping cough fades with time. This means it’s possible to get the disease at a later age even if you’ve been immunised. This is why whooping cough vaccine is given several times during childhood and adlescence. 

A whooping cough booster is also recommended for pregnant women in their third trimester. It protects your newborn for the first two months of life when he’s most at risk of complications from whooping cough.