Pertussis is caused by the
bacterium Bordetella pertussis. The disease starts with cold-like symptoms and
may be a mild cough or fever. 1-2 weeks later, severe coughing can begin.
Pertussis can become a series of coughing fits that continues for weeks. It is
diagnosed by considering whether the person has been exposed to pertussis, the
signs and symptoms the patient presents with, a physical exam, and a swab from
the back of the throat through the nose. Pertussis is spread from person to
person by usually sneezing while in close proximity to others who then breathe
in the bacteria. Many infants who get pertussis get it from an older sibling,
parent, or caregiver. If left untreated, a person with pertussis can transmit it for up to 3 weeks after the onset of coughing attacks. The period of communicability is reduced to 5 days if treated with antibiotics including azithromycin, erythromycin, and clarithromycin (New York State Department of Health, 2012). The pertussis vaccine is very effective in preventing a
person from contracting the disease, but it isn’t 100% effective just like any
other vaccine. But, if you have been vaccinated, the infection usually isn’t as
severe.
Nurses can play an important role
in preventing and treating pertussis. They can educate new mothers on the
importance of getting vaccinated, the importance of getting their older children
vaccinated and then their new child vaccinated at 2, 4, and 6 months, at 15
through 18 months, and again at 4 through 6 years (CDC, 2012). Infants are at
risk of contracting this disease because they can’t get vaccinated until they
are two months old and are completely dependent on their caregiver, so they are in close proximity to people at all times. I found the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention: Pertussis
page to be very helpful and informative- http://www.cdc.gov/pertussis/index.html
References
Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention. (2012). Pertussis. Retrieved from
http://www.cdc.gov/pertussis/
New York State Department of Health. (2012). Pertussis. Retrieved from http://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/communicable/pertussis/fact_sheet.htm
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ReplyDeleteHey Karla!
ReplyDeleteThis was a very interesting disease to research. I really enjoyed looking at the link you provided-excellent! It had a lot of credible information and I really liked how they had a “kids” tab where they made it even more understandable. This “kids” tab would be a great resource for nurses to use when talking to children who come in sick with pertussis, or a school nurse trying to educate the importance if there was an outbreak. In my hometown a couple years ago, the local area such as elementary and high school had several cases. I remember them sending us home with information like this in how to prevent the spread of germs and what signs and symptoms to look for. It’s also wonderful to know antibiotics are available to decrease the period of communicability as you had mentioned. This is an extremely important component if trying to stop the spread of the disease.
According to CDC link posted, I was surprised to see how many people still contract this disease each year; between 10,000 and 27,000 cases in 5 years, including many cases are not diagnosed or not reported! That seemed like a relatively high number considering the advancements and availability of our vaccines such at the TDaP. Knowledge I’m sure we are all aware of, pertussis is known for its extreme coughing spells. However, I did not know that people can literally cough so hard intensely that they throw up or turn blue because they can't breathe-hence they make a gasp like whoop! Yikes!! It just goes to show how much proper education about disease control and vaccination is needed. Especially when its target population is the very young!!
Jillian
Pertusis is a very interesting and devastating sickness. It seems to me that over these last few years we have heard a lot about pertusis through the media. Karla, I found your information very interesting and the link had a lot of insight into this sickness. As I was searching for more information, there was one link that popped up no matter what I typed in the search engine. It didn’t seem like the type of article I was looking for, but by the fifth search I ran, I finally clicked on the link.
ReplyDeleteAs it turns out, it was exactly what I was looking for, I just hadn’t realized it! This is a story of a new mom and her first baby, both positive for pertusis. I was looking for more information about the disease process, so I could further understand and imagine what my role would be as a nurse. This new mom, Chelsey, describes in great detail exactly what her and her new family went through when her 10 day old baby was diagnosed with pertusis.
I feel like I, among many people, have heard of pertusis and realize that it can be serious but aren’t quite sure why. After reading Chelsey’s story, I feel like I have a better understanding of the effects that pertusis can have, especially with newborns.
Link: http://shotbyshot.org/pertussis/kaliahs-story/
Charles, C. (2012). Kalaih’s story. Shot by shot. Retrieved from http://shotbyshot.org/pertussis/kaliahs-story/
Karla, your post was a great way of breaking down the signs and symptoms that set Pertussis apart from a common cold. I know that whooping cough is exposed in the media, but I feel that not many understand its full effects that could even lead to death if untreated. The CDC website is a great resource, but we as nurses also need to know how to translate the information into everyday language so that our patients can fully grasp the importance of what we are saying. For nurses and other health care workers in Labor and Delivery, it is a great opportunity to ask about scheduling a vaccination for when their newborn is two months old. That way, it would not be overlooked and it would be fresh in their minds about the risks infants deal with during the period until vaccination.
ReplyDeleteI found a USA Today article from last week proposing evidence that the bacteria that causes whooping cough is becoming resistant to vaccines. According to the article, “Last year, the USA suffered the largest whooping cough outbreak since 1955” (Szbao, 2013). What will resistance do to our communities? What can we do about it? According to the article, “genetic tests showed signs of resistance in 11 of 12 children hospitalized for whooping cough in Philadelphia… the bacteria lacked a key protein included in the pertussis vaccine which stimulates immunity to the disease” (Szbao, 2013). I thought this was very interesting because we hear about this happening to the flu vaccines as the strains change, but I never applied that concept to other infectious diseases. Is this why so many people are getting infected recently? We need to get this information out there keep the community up-to-date on strains and which vaccines to get.
References
Szbao, L. (2013). Whooping cough may be becoming resistant to vaccines. USA TODAY, Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2013/02/08/whooping-cough-may-be-becoming-resistant-to-vaccines/1903439/
Pertussis is a disease I am most familiar with, although it is most commonly addressed as “whooping cough” to the general public. I find myself most familiar with this disease because I have heard a lot about it through the local news and throughout the state. In a news cast I found through WQOW News 18 Eau Claire, WI, “Wisconsin is leading the country when it comes to its widespread outbreak of whooping cough”. (Maxwell & Mitri, 2012) Why this is I am not certain; however I realize the importance of containing the disease is imperative to infants and among people who have not been vaccinated. Because infants under two months are at highest risk and cannot become vaccinated in their first two months of life, experts who were referenced in the WQOW News post described a term called “cocooning”. Cocooning is similar to the idea of herd control: when the majority of a population is vaccinated, those who are unvaccinated are less likely to acquire the infection. Cocooning is specifically referred to with infants and the practice of protecting the family and members in contact with the infant by getting them vaccinated. (Maxwell & Mitri, 2012) Similar to what Karla was talking about when educating mothers to encourage the whole family to become vaccinated, I just did not realize there was a term for it!
ReplyDeleteMaxwell, D., Mitri, L. (2012, August 17). Wisconsin has highest
number of whooping cough cases. Retrieved from
http://www.wqow.com/story/19303184/fur-ever-friend
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the fact that you chose to post on Pertussis because of the fact that since July of 2012 Wisconsin has had the highest rate of Pertussis outbreaks in the entire country at 50.7 cases per 100,000 residents (Crowe, Faryon, & Lueders, 2012). Like you mentioned in your post, it is highly contagious and commonly infects young children with more susceptible immune systems and can be potentially deadly. It is crucial that we raise awareness here at home to help slow the spread of this infectious disease. According to an article in the Wisconsin tate the number one method for preventing the spread of Pertussis has been the vaccination, however, interestingly enough the article also mentioned that two studies done on the matter showed that 70% of those who became infected did indeed have the vaccination. Due to the fact that over time the vaccination becomes less and less effective the CDC began recommending booster shots for older children (CDC, 2012). As nurses it is important for us to keep up to date on new findings such as this so we can protect our patients and actively contribute to infection control.
I’ve included a link to a video of a commercial I have seen aired in Wisconsin numerous times; I think it’s a great informational clip to help raise awareness in the general population.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aq9mkRr_E7c
References
Crowe, K., Faryon, J., Lueders, B. (2012). National whooping cough epidemic hits Wisconsin hardest. Wisconsin state journal. Retrieved from http://host.madison.com/news/local/health_med_fit/national-whooping-cough-epidemic-hits-wisconsin-hardest/article_6a3529f4-e7fe-11e1-9a47-0019bb2963f4.html
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2012). Pertussis. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/pertussis/
Karla, you gave a great break down of pertussis including the signs and symptoms, how it is diagnosed, how it is spread and ways to treat the virus. Not being very knowledgeable about pertussis, I found your post interesting and informative while also easy to understand. I also appreciate how you included how we as nurses can take a stand against this disease.
ReplyDeleteI have generally heard of pertussis, commonly called "whooping cough", in the news. Also one memory that always sticks out to me when I hear the word pertussis is the popular commercial that talked about babies becoming infected with the disease. Here is a link to the commercial, which I am sure most of you are familiar with: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aq9mkRr_E7c
How could one forget the sad sound of that little baby coughing? I think commercials like these are important because they spread information about diseases like pertussis to the general public. Most people watch television and this is a good way to get information out there.
This specific commercial appeals to a person's role as caregiver. As a parent your number one priority in life is protecting your child. This commercial plays upon that aspect of parenthood. It leads them to believe that they could be putting their precious child in danger. Not only could they be infecting their defenseless baby with the disease, but the disease could ultimately lead the child to its death. All the while parents are only trying to protect their baby, but by keeping it close could they have spread an infection to it? This commercial aims to get the parent into this mind set and therefore be motivated to get the pertussis vaccination. I think that this is an effective way to scare people into getting vaccinated in order to protect themselves and their loved ones.
In February 2017, my immune system was not functioning correctly and my primary care physician did a N.A.E.T. Treatment with Laser Acupuncture and Auricular Acupuncture to try to desensitize my body from the different allergies and allergies to the metals. This procedure began to make me drained and very fatigued. He recommended that I have a GI Stool test done as I was having GI issues in February 2017, to check for parasites, pathogens, bacterial flora, and fungi/yeasts. The results showed that I had a Bacterial Pathogen called Salmonella, high amounts of normal bacterial flora, called Enterococcus spp. and Escherichia spp., 2 parasites called Dientamoeba fragilis and Endolimax nana, and 2 types of fungi/yeasts called Candida spp. and Geotrichum spp. The doctor recommended that I take Dr Itua Herbal Medicine to get rid of the Candida as that was the main concern at the time and I did purchase Dr Itua Herbal Medicine and after taking it all as instructed I was totally cured so is a urged form of heart to believe in herbal medicines but yes indeed natural remedies should be recognize around the globe because is the only healing that has no side effect on each every healing, I will recommend anyone here with health challenge to contact Dr Itua Herbal Center on E-Mail drituaherbalcenter@gmail.com / Www.drituaherbalcenter.com he capable of all kind of disease like Cancer,Hiv,Herpes,Kidney disease,Parkinson,ALS,Copd. with a complete cure without coming back.
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