Pertussis: Diagnosis and Treatment

Course overview

Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, is a vaccine-preventable disease that has experienced a resurgence since the 1980s (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2022b). It is likely that only a small number of pertussis cases are recognized and reported with the real incidence likely much higher. Rates reported may be up to 160 times less than the actual amount of disease with asymptomatic rates up to 22 times more prevalent than symptomatic infections (Cherry, 2016). Clinicians and educators have a role in the prevention of pertussis through patient education and immunization programs. Clinicians and educators must inform patients that neither vaccination nor infection guarantees life-long protection from pertussis. Previously vaccinated adults and adolescents with mild or subclinical disease are a reservoir of infection and often are the cause of infection in infants and children.