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Whooping cough

Pertussis · Černý kašel (pertuse)

What it is

A bacterial infection with a cough that lasts a hundred days; most dangerous for babies too young to be vaccinated.

Symptoms & signs

  • Coughing fits ending in a whoop or vomiting
  • worse at night
  • weeks of symptoms
  • apnoea in infants

🚩 Get help if…

  • call 112 / 911 now A baby who stops breathing, goes blue or has a fit
  • call 112 / 911 now Coughing fits followed by long pauses or floppiness
  • see a doctor soon A baby under 6 months with any cough fits
  • see a doctor soon Vomiting after coughing so often that no fluids stay down

Where it strikes

Medical treatment

  • Macrolide antibiotics early (limits spread more than symptoms)
  • admission for infants
  • maternal vaccination in pregnancy
  • booster doses

Natural & lifestyle

  • Vaccination in pregnancy — about 90% fewer cases in babies under 3 months
  • isolation while infectious
  • small frequent feeds

Emerging & experimental

  • Acellular vaccine improvements
  • monoclonal antibodies

Alternative, off-label & anecdotal

Approaches used outside the guidelines, with what their supporters report and what testing has found so far.

  • Honey for cough in children over one year — small studies early / small studies
  • Herbal cough syrups — no effect on the toxin; antibiotics limit spread anecdotal / traditional

ICD codes