• Pertussis Fact Sheet
  Pertussis is a highly contagious bacterial infection that causes coughing and gagging with little or no fever.
  
  
• Pertussis in the Child Care Setting
  Pertussis (whooping cough) is a very contagious and dangerous infection of the respiratory tract caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis. Whooping cough gets its name from the whooping sound the child makes when trying to draw breath after a coughing spell. Not all children with whooping cough make this sound; very young children may not be strong enough. Symptoms generally include those of a cold, such as runny nose and a cough that gradually worsens. Violent coughing spells frequently end with vomiting. Once the whooping stage begins, antibiotics are of no use.
  
  
• The Newest Whooping Cough Vaccine Works
  The new version of the vaccine for pertussis, DTaP, has proved to be at least as effective as the older vaccine, DTP -- and have significantly fewer side effects -- according to a group of Canadian researchers (child health).
  
  
• Whooping Cough Information
  Whooping cough in a recognizable form evolves over a period of 2 weeks. It usually starts as a sore throat with a mild feeling of tiredness and being unwell, that within 2 or 3 days turns into a usually dry, intermittent "ordinary" cough.
  
  

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