MONTPELIER – The Vermont Department of Health recommends that people in the impacted counties of Lamoille, Caledonia and Washington take extra steps to protect themselves and their community from whooping cough by checking that the family is up to date on whooping cough vaccine (Tdap or DTap). The vaccine work well, but protection can fade over time. People who are vaccinated can still get whooping cough, but their illness is generally milder.
People at higher risk of serious illness, including babies under one year old and pregnant people, should be especially cautious if they have symptoms. They should be seen by a health care provider if they are coughing violently and have breathing difficulties.
Whooping cough, also known as pertussis, is a very contagious respiratory disease. It is caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis. It is known for uncontrollable, violent coughing which often makes it hard to breathe. After fits of many coughs, someone with whooping cough often needs to take deep breaths which result in a “whooping” sound. Whooping cough can affect people of all ages, but can be very serious, even deadly, for babies less than a year old. Other people at high risk of severe illness include those with immunocompromised conditions and moderate to severe asthma.
Coughing fits can cause people to vomit during or after coughing fits, feel very tired after the fit, but usually seem well in-between fits, have difficulty sleeping, struggle to breathe, fracture (break) a rib.
About one in three babies younger than one year old who get whooping cough need care in the hospital. The younger the baby, the more likely they’ll need hospital treatment. Babies younger than one year old who are treated in the hospital can have life-threatening pauses in breathing, lung infection; violent, uncontrolled shaking; encephalopathy (disease of the brain); one in 100 will die from their complications.
Whooping cough is very contagious. The bacteria spreads easily from person-to-person through the air in respiratory droplets when someone who is infected coughs or sneezes. People can be contagious for weeks, and can unknowingly spread the bacteria. Without appropriate treatment, someone with whooping cough is considered contagious for 21 days after the start of their cough. After just five days of appropriate antibiotic treatment, they are no longer considered contagious. It usually takes five to 10 days for symptoms to appear after exposure to the bacteria that cause whooping cough. Sometimes it can take as long as three weeks to develop symptoms. Whooping cough appears similar to a common cold early on. Babies may struggle to breathe. Many babies with whooping cough don’t cough at all. Instead, they may have apnea (life-threatening pauses in breathing). The apnea may cause cyanosis (to turn blue) or they may struggle to breathe. For some babies, whooping cough may seem like a common cold for the entire illness, not just at the beginning. Unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated babies less than one year old have the highest risk for severe complication and death.
Later symptoms include rapid, violent and uncontrolled coughing fits. One to two weeks after the first symptoms start, people may develop paroxysms, known as coughing fits. These coughing fits usually last one to six weeks but can last for up to 10 weeks. The cough generally gets worse and becomes more common as the illness continues.
