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Pertussis, or whooping cough, as it is more commonly known,
is a highly contagious disease. Pertussis is caused by a bacterium that is found in the
mouth, nose, and throat of a person infected with it. It is spread to others in the tiny
droplets of moisture that are expelled by coughing or sneezing.
Pertussis causes severe spells of coughing which can
interfere with eating, drinking, and breathing. In the United States, approximately 70
percent of reported pertussis cases occur in children younger than 5 years, more than half
in infants less than 1 year of age. Pertussis is most serious in young children, and more
than half of the children who get this disease are hospitalized. In recent years, over
2,000 cases of pertussis in the United States have been reported each year to the Centers
for Disease Control.
Complications occur in a substantial proportion of reported
cases. Pneumonia occurs in 1 in every 6 children with pertussis. For every 1,000 reported
children with pertussis, 20 develop convulsions, and 4 develop inflammation of the brain
(encephalitis). In recent years, an average of 9 deaths due to pertussis occurred each
year.
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