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Strong cough awakens suspicion of whooping cough

Strong cough awakens suspicion of whooping cough

If you are thinking about having a child or living with children, you may already hear about pertussis, a disease also known as a "long cough" because of its main symptom . According to data from the World Health Organization, approximately 50 million cases of pertussis are registered annually and 300,000 result in death. In Brazil, however much the number is smaller, the disease still frightens and is especially dangerous for newborns, whose immunity is still quite fragile. "The research points to a new outbreak among newborns, that vaccination can not be done, "says pediatrician Luíza Helena Falleiros Arlant, vice president of Slipe (Latin American Society of Pediatric Infectology). Caused by a bacterium called Bordetella pertussis, the disease affects the upper respiratory tract (nose, nasal cavity, pharynx, larynx and trachea). "Asthma is more common than people think, but because the symptoms are similar to those of the flu, the problem ends up attracting less attention than it should," explains Luiza Helena.

Sick baby - Photo Getty Images

What are the symptoms of whooping cough?

According to pediatrician Moisés Chencinski, specialist in My Life, whooping cough begins with mild symptoms, similar to a common cold. This phase lasts from one to two weeks. The cough, initially weak, becomes more intense and even causes respiratory spasms, often accompanied by vomiting, sudden and uncontrollable cough, rapid and short after an inspiration. In the next stage, the symptoms will be attenuated for two or three weeks and may last for months.

These symptoms are very dangerous in newborns and children who are not yet one year old. "The body of a newborn is still very fragile, the strong cough caused by pertussis can cause rupture of several blood vessels, causing hemorrhages and, in more serious cases, leading to death," says Luiza Helena. also affects adults?

Even though children under one year of age are the most at risk group, this disease manifests itself in all ages, including youth and adult life. "The disease is not dangerous to the host in adulthood." Most often it is mistaken for an influenza or a cold, "says pediatrician Moisés Chencinski.

Still, a doctor should be sought if symptoms persist during a long time since an adult with pertussis can transmit the disease to a child who has not yet been immunized.

Allergy - Photo Getty Images

How is it spread?

Pertussis is a disease that spreads through of the droplets of water expelled during the cough. According to the World Health Organization survey, if a person contracts the bacterium, the chances of it being passed on to other people in the family are between 83% and 100%, depending on the propensity of each. the patients think they have the flu or the cold and, therefore, do not seek a professional. Because the bacteria can stay for a few weeks, the chances of contagion increase, "explains pediatrician Luíza Helena Falleiros Arlant. That is why, even with the disease presenting few problems to the adult, they should seek a physician if they present symptoms for more than a week.

According to a Pan American Health Organization survey, adults in contact with the child are the main ones responsible for the transmission of the disease, especially in the case of babies under one year of age, when the disease is most dangerous.Can it lead to more serious illness? The bacterium of pertussis does not cause pneumonia directly, but leaves the lungs propitious for the proliferation of other organisms, which can cause serious problems in the respiratory tract in both adults and children. "But pertussis is dangerous only in children, but the accumulation of catarrh caused by the disease leaves the lung more prone to suffering from other fungi and bacteria, which can cause pneumonia in adults too," says pediatrician Luíza Helena Falleiros Arlant.

According to pediatrician Luíza Helena Falleiros Arlant, vice president of Slipe (Latin American Society of Pediatric Infectious Diseases), the triple bacterial vaccine, also known as DTP, should be given when the baby a year and a half ago, protects the child against whooping cough for the first five or six years of life. After this age, which coincides with the child's entry into school, a booster dose is needed.

"With the greatest contact with other children and adults, the child needs to be vaccinated again. between the ages of 15 and 18, when immunization is losing its effect, "explains the pediatrician. Only the doses for children are distributed through the Unified Health System, the other doses can be found in private centers.

"Vaccination is essential for women who are considering becoming pregnant or who are mothers of babies less than 12 months of age. life, "says Luiza Helena.


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