Pertussis | Provider Information

Communicable Disease Provider Alert

Report Suspected pertussis cases to Contra Costa Health Services, Public Health Nurse Manager Susan Farley, 925-313-6740 (sfarley@hsd.cccounty.us).

Triage Nurse/Office Staff/Receptionist

Notify your office staff to increase awareness to parents calling for advice/appointments for persons with the symptoms listed below
Consider posting this notice at staff workstations.
Symptomatic persons should be offered priority access to care and should be separated from other patients.

Clinicians

Symptoms

Maintain a high index of suspicion regarding pertussis for all children and adults who present with the following signs and symptoms:

Paroxysmal cough characterized by bursts of rapid cough
High-pitched inspiratory "whoop"
Apnea and/or Cyanosis (especially age < 3 months)
Posttussive vomiting or gagging
Between paroxysms of cough, infant may appear healthy.
Unvaccinated infants may have a marked lymphocytosis indicative of pertussis.

Diagnosis

The diagnostic gold standard for pertussis is a positive culture result. PCR testing of nasopharyngeal swabs may be available in some commercial labs. See our additional information about nasopharyngeal swabs.

Treatment

See our Treatment Chart

Vaccination

All contacts < 7 years old who have not received at least 4 doses of DtaP, or for whom it has been over 3 years since the last dose, should receive a DtaP dose. (DtaP doses should be spaced by 4 weeks)
All contacts 10 - 65 years old should receive one dose of Tdap.

The effectiveness of vaccines licensed in the United States for protection to moderate to severe pertussis has been estimated to range from 60% to 90% which means that sometimes even immunized children get pertussis. In addition, immunity to pertussis has been shown to wane 6-12 years after vaccination.

Content provided by the Public Health Division of Contra Costa Health Services.