Nursery World - A Unique Child: Health - A doctor's diary ... whooping cough

'Doctor, my child has an awful cough, you have to help'

Whooping cough, sometimes referred to by the medical profession as pertussis, is often considered a disease of the past. But nothing could be further from the truth.

There has been a resurgence of whooping cough over the last year and, indeed, a warning has been issued by the Health Protection Agency (HPA) to all GPs in England.

Whooping cough is a disease of the upper airways and is caused by the bacterium bordetella pertussis. Those who haven't been fully vaccinated or who were vaccinated many years ago are at particular risk of contracting whooping cough. In terms of the under-fives, the HPA considers those under three months old as being particularly vulnerable to pertussis and its complications. No age group, however, is immune from the condition.

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