Whooping cough Up to 75 percent of adults are affected

Whooping cough: 75 percent of them are adults

19/01/2011

Adults are more likely to have whooping cough than children. An evaluation of DAK-internal data for 2009 revealed that around 8,500 insured persons were treated with whooping cough. Only a quarter of them were children! „Whooping cough is no longer a teething problem“, says Dr. Christina Sewekow, health expert at DAK. „Many adults forget to refresh their vaccine protection and then fall ill unexpectedly. The bad thing is that they can infect children so easily.“

Whooping cough often long unrecognized
The disease is triggered by bacteria, which are transmitted by droplet infection. A strong sneezing is enough to infect bystanders. „Whooping cough is a very persistent disease that can last for weeks“, knows Dr. Sewekow. And: Often it is not recognized. „Many initially suspect a bad cold or flu. After a few days, however, the cough worsens.“ It comes to spasmodic coughing fits, which can also lead to vomiting. Common: The disease is particularly contagious if the symptoms are still harmless.

Vaccination mitigates disease progression
The DAK expert therefore recommends that the doctor regularly check the vaccine protection. „Primary immunization usually takes place in childhood, after which it needs to be refreshed.“ However, nobody is completely protected: „In spite of vaccination it can come to a contagion, but the course of the disease is then not so difficult.“

Disease for babies lethal
Particularly at risk are babies“, warns Sewekow. „The disease can even be life-threatening for infants. Because the vaccine protection works only after the third vaccination around the fourth month of life around. Before that, the little ones are virtually without protection.“ Therefore, it is important that all who have contact with babies are vaccinated against whooping cough. With the fourth vaccination, around the first birthday, the primary vaccination is complete. The first booster vaccination takes place between the ages of five and six, and the second between the ages of nine and seventeen. The next vaccination is then recommended once by the Standing Vaccination Commission for the vaccine against tetanus and diphtheria, which is due every ten years. (Pm)

Picture: S. Hofschlaeger