The first description of pertussis French doctor Bayu made in the XVI century. Pertussis was isolated in 1906 from cough phlegm of a sick child, and French doctors Zh.Borde O.Zhangu. It's quite difficult childhood infections, but today, thanks to vaccination, children suffer from it much less often.

What is pertussis and how they can be caught

Whooping cough - an acute infectious disease that occurs mainly in children and characterized by cyclic course with attacks of spasmodic cough.

Pertussis Pertussis is a wand that can be found in the sputum of patients with pertussis. The wand is unstable in the environment, it dies quickly in the sun, by drying under the influence of disinfectants. Pertussis coli is sensitive to the antibiotic tetracycline, erythromycin, chloramphenicol.

To catch pertussis can only directly from the patient, through airborne droplets when talking, coughing. The most infectious cases of whooping cough are considered early in the disease. The susceptibility to pertussis great, sick children to decades (mostly from one to five years), but meets and pertussis among adults, it usually flows were obliterated. Before the introduction of vaccination against whooping cough epidemic disease recurred every two - three years. Today, among the vaccinated populations are usually found isolated cases of the disease.

What happens in the body of a child who is sick with whooping cough

The pathogen is introduced into the body through the mucous membranes of the upper respiratory tract, and begin to multiply, without penetrating into the blood. Here begins the inflammatory process, inhibited the activity of the cilia of the epithelial cells (they contributed to the promotion of sputum bronchitis) and increased production of mucus. Inflammation results in the appearance of erosions, ulcers small on the inner surface of the airways and necrotic (dying off) mucosa.

Mucus occludes the lumen of the small bronchi, causing portions of lung tissue or glued (atelectasis) or, conversely, overly expanded (emphysema). Formed as sensitization (hypersensitivity) to the body's waste products pertussis bacillus.

Constant inflammation leads to irritation of nerve endings in the airways that causes coughing and education in the respiratory center (located in the brain), the focus of constant excitement. From this focus of excitation can go to other centers located nearby, such as in the vasomotor center, which leads to a spasm of blood vessels and increase blood pressure. Excitation transfer to other areas of the brain can be explained as jerking of the muscles of the face and body, some vomiting and other symptoms of pertussis.

Symptoms of whooping cough

The incubation period (time from infection to onset of symptoms) lasts from two to fifteen days (usually five - nine days). During pertussis can be divided into three periods: the catarrhal, spasmodic cough and resolution.

Catarrhal period pertussis (three - fourteen days) begins in a small temperature, cough and runny nose. During this period, distinguished from the usual whooping viral colds impossible. But prolonged cough becomes obsessive, runny nose almost disappears.

Period spastic cough (one - five weeks) begins with the appearance of attacks of whooping cough in the form of multiple shocks cough, followed by a deep breath with a whistle (whooping) and a series of short spasmodic jerks. The baby's face turns blue, the veins swell, tongue protrudes from his mouth. Often at this point there comes a brief cessation of breathing. During the attack is ten or more such cycles, then released transparent viscous sputum, sometimes with vomiting. The day a child can be dozens of such attacks. Against the backdrop of attacks a child's face becomes puffy appear hemorrhages on the mucous membrane of the eyes and skin.

Gradually attacks become less frequent, and then pass at all. Common cough continues for one - three weeks, this period is called the period of authorization. At this time, sometimes there are attacks with typical pertussis reprises - false relapses. This occurs at the time when the body is completely freed from the pertussis bacillus. Very often these relapses occur in joining some viral infections. But gradually it's like.

Child can infect others for forty-two days of the onset of the disease.

Whooping cough can be complicated by the addition of a secondary infection and the development of inflammation of the bronchi, lungs, pleura, spasm of the glottis with respiratory failure. Children under one year can go into convulsions.

Treatment and prevention of whooping cough

Treatment for whooping cough with antibiotics only makes sense catarrhal period, but at this time the diagnosis of whooping cough is almost never raised. In the following antibiotics shall be appointed only if the accession of secondary infection.

Important daily routine, the constant exposure to fresh air ventilation of the room. Appointed special means thinning mucus, expectorants.

In many countries, for the prevention of whooping cough vaccination against him. In our country, the adsorbed pertussis-diphtheria-tetanus vaccine is given to all children during the life several times to create a persistent immunity. It was found that if vaccinated are less than a third of the child population, whooping cough comes back again. Borne and pertussis vaccination does not provide a sufficient life-long immunity, so there may be repeated pertussis, including the adult population. But vaccinated children and adults usually suffer from blurred forms of the disease.

Galina Romanenko

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