• What is whooping cough?

Whooping cough, also called Pertussis, causes coughing fits that make it hard to breathe. It spreads easily when someone with the disease coughs or sneezes and it can be fatal in young babies.

• What are the whooping cough signs and symptoms?

Whooping cough often starts with mild symptoms associated with the common cold like a runny nose, sneezing, a mild cough and low or no fever. After one to two weeks, however, the symptoms can worsen quickly and can last for months. These symptoms include bad coughing attacks that may lead to vomiting, problems breathing, a red or blue face, extreme tiredness, a "whoop" sound, and sweating spells.

• Whooping cough symptoms in infants are different!

Infants younger than 6 months old often do not have a typical cough. In the early stages infants may gasp or gag, get very tired, stop breathing and have seizures. Symptoms can worsen quickly and infants may need to be taken to the hospital for care.

• Treat whooping cough early!

Call your doctor if you or a family member is around someone who has whooping cough, or a bad cough or other symptoms of whooping cough. Your doctor may prescribe an antibiotic medicine which can keep you from getting sicker and prevent you from spreading the disease to others. It may also be given to infants and other household members to prevent them from getting sick.

• If you have whooping cough:

Stay home and avoid contact with others until you have finished treatment. If you are caring for an infant, have an adult who is not sick care for your baby.

• Whooping cough shots prevent the disease!

Everyone needs to be up-to-date on their whooping cough shots (DTaP for children younger than 7 years; or Tdap for older ages). Immunity from the disease does not last, so everyone 11 years and older needs a booster shot.

Don’t hesitate to call my district office at (925) 328-1515 for additional information on community resources.

Additional Whooping Cough Resources:

• Alameda
• Contra Costa
• San Joaquin
• Sacramento

Sincerely,

Joan Buchanan