The State District Sanitary Inspector in Myszków, due to the occurrence of cases of whooping cough, kindly asks you to take appropriate preventive measures regarding this disease in educational institutions.
Cough in children is one of the most common symptoms of respiratory infections, regardless of whether the disease is viral or bacterial in origin. In most cases, effective treatment of the infection results in the child’s cough subsiding after 1 or 2 weeks. An exception is whooping cough, also known as pertussis. As the name of this disease suggests, the main symptom is the child coughing up secretions during frequent, exhausting coughing fits. It is an acute infectious disease in children caused by the Bordetella pertussis bacterium. Whooping cough is highly contagious, and most cases occur in preschool and school-age children.
Transmission of whooping cough occurs through direct contact with an infected person or through droplet transmission, inhaling the airborne respiratory secretions of the sick person during coughing. Typical whooping cough progresses in several characteristic phases.
The disease begins with an asymptomatic incubation period that lasts about 2 weeks.
The first phase of the disease is the catarrhal phase, characterized by general weakness, sore throat, runny nose, conjunctivitis, and low-grade fever. During this phase, these symptoms can be attributed to various other diseases such as a cold. This phase also lasts about 2 weeks. It is also the period when the sick person is most contagious to others.
In the second phase of the disease, paroxysmal coughing appears, which is initially dry and more like a cough. It often intensifies at night. The coughing fits are caused by the pertussis toxin produced by the Bordetella pertussis bacteria. For some children, the disease ends at this stage and is then considered a subclinical or incomplete form of whooping cough.
In most cases, the disease progresses further, with the cough becoming very severe with a deep, wheezing inhalation, sometimes described by parents as a “rooster crow” or gasping. Within a day, coughing fits can occur from a dozen to several dozen times and can last for several minutes each. A coughing fit can be triggered by a child crying, increased physical exertion, or pressing the tongue with a spoon during feeding or a spatula during a medical examination. Whooping cough fits end with the child coughing up sticky and thick secretions, often provoking vomiting. Due to the increased pressure in the small blood vessels of the mucous membranes and facial skin, small petechiae or blood spots may appear on the conjunctivae or face of the child. Swelling of the face and eyes may also occur. Whooping cough is a significant effort for the child, so the child is restless and heavily flushed during coughing fits, and tired after a fit.
Whooping cough is one of the 10 most deadly infectious diseases in children – according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The current increase in whooping cough cases mainly affects adolescents and adults, whose immunity acquired from childhood vaccination has weakened.
Due to the increased number of cases in the Myszków district, especially among middle school students, please inform parents to pay close attention to their children and react at the first stage of the disease when the first symptoms appear, as they are often trivialized and treated as a common infection.
Please also ensure that teachers and educators are sensitive to noticing any signs of illness in their students and inform parents to consult with healthcare professionals regarding any detected symptoms of the disease.
State District
Sanitary Inspector in Myszków
Dr. med. Marek Olenderek