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Pertussis, or whooping cough, is a bacterial respiratory illness and can infect persons of all ages. Pertussis is most serious in infants and young children.  It is highly communicable, and can last for many weeks.  Children with pertussis often have paroxysmal spasms of severe coughing, whooping, and posttussive vomiting.  Vaccinations against pertussis are given to infants and are available to children under age 7 years.  A new vaccine for adolescents ages 10 to 18 years was licensed in May, 2005, and will be available publicly after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issues recommendations for its usage. 

Arizona is experiencing a significant increase in pertussis cases in 2005.  A statewide outbreak was declared on May 19, 2005.  Due to a decrease in cases, the statewide outbreak ended on October 11, 2005.  ADHS is also no longer recommending the accelerated immunization schedule.  Additional resources are listed below. 

Arizona pertussis statistics

Information for Health Care Providers

Pertussis quick sheet (Arizona Department of Health Services)

Clinician fact sheet [PDF 89K] (Arizona Department of Health Services)

Links to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):

          Fact sheet
          Further information about pertussis from CDC's Pink Book
          Additional resources on pertussis from the National Immunization Program
          Guidelines for the Control of Pertussis Outbreaks
          Pertussis vaccines for children under 7 years (DTaP) 
          Recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)

Pertussis resources from the Immunization Action Coalition
Pertussis resources from pertussis.com (includes audio and video files)

Health care providers should report suspected cases of pertussis to their local health departments within 24 hours of diagnosis, treatment, or detection.  See Communicable Disease Reporting for further information.