Is whooping cough contagious?

100 days cough or whooping cough (pertussis) is highly contagious and generally affects children, but no less affected adults.

This is caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis. These bacteria will interfere with the respiratory system, nose, throat, trachea, and lungs. Pertussis is spread through the air by direct contact from splashing saliva or mucus from the patient during coughing. In addition to highly contagious, the disease can also cause serious complications and even deadly, especially in infants.

Symptoms of children suffering from whooping cough, are coughing ending barrage of shrill voices, accompanied by a runny nose and fever. Because the cough occurs repeatedly, the patient may run out of oxygen, consequently face becomes bluish, sometimes convulsions, and even bleeding.

Prevention

Whooping cough can basically attack anyone, if attacked teenagers and adults the disease is not too dangerous, but in infants and toddlers have a lethal risk. Therefore infants under 18 months are advised to be hospitalized to receive supervision.

To cure whooping cough, requiring macrolides class of antibiotics, such as clarithromycin or azithromycin. Drug, is not recommended given. However, because it was feared that severe pertussis cough can cause a child deprived of oxygen (because he had not had time to draw breath between coughing), then the drug should be administered antitussives. To prevent dehydration, patients also need to be given fluids intravenously.

In the course of time, the ability of a vaccine to protect most probably be reduced so that the vaccine needs to be done again. Addition, people with whooping cough need to be isolated to prevent contagious. Although the name cough 100 days, but this does not really fit 100 days, could recover more quickly or cough longer. Therefore the patient should see a doctor expert in the field of Respirology.