Pertussis, also known as “whooping cough,” is a highly contagious disease that affects the respiratory system. This disease is caused by the the bacterium, Bordatel la pertussis, which transfers from person to person through air droplets. Coughing, sneezing, or coming close into contact with an infected person can be very dangerous it is likely to infect a healthy person. Once Bord atella pertussis enters a person’s system, it sticks itself to the cilia in one’s respiratory system. Because the bacteria releases toxins once it binds to the cilia, the cilia gets damaged and begins to swell up the person’s airways.
Whooping cough has three stages: catarrhal, paroxysmal, and convalescent. The first, or catarrhal stage, usually lasts about two weeks. Once early symptoms are present, one may experience what seems to be a common cold: a runny nose, lowgrade fever, a mild cough, and even a
…show more content…
Anybody from infants to adults are recommended to get the vaccine to prevent the contraction of pertussis. Pregnant women are especially advised to get the vaccine during each pregnancy to ensure a healthy condition for herself and her baby.
It is especially important for babies, infants, and pregnant women to take vaccinations against whooping cough because symptoms are most harmful for babies. In fact, babies who are younger than one year old usually need hospital treatment. There are also many other complications babies with pertussis can face; they can develop pneumonia, experience convulsions, develop apnea or encephalopathy, and some may even die.
Teenagers and adults who contract pertussis usually experience milder symptoms and complications than babies and children. Usually, in teens and adults, the complications that arise from pertussis occur from the coughing fits. Complications in teens and adults are rare; however, they can experience weight loss, have no bladder control, pass out, and even break a
After an incubation period of five to ten days, or as long as 21 days, numerous symptoms can be observed. The symptoms come in two stages. The first stage consists of common cold symptoms such as sneezing, runny nose, low-grade fever, and a mild cough. It is during this time that the disease is most contagious, and it lasts from one to two weeks.
For the disease to occur, Bordetella pertussis evades the host immune system and is disseminate in the lower respiratory tract. Inhaled bacteria droplets then attach to the ciliated epithelial cells in the nasal-pharynx and trachea. It is at this point that Bordetella pertussis produces virulent factors that are classified into two; adhesins and toxins. Adhesins mediate bacterial attachment to the epithelial cells while toxins that mediate the host immune system. Adhesins include; filamentous haemagglutinin, fimbriae and pertactin while toxins include pertussis toxin, tracheal cytotoxin and adenylate cyclase toxin(1). To understand the role of these virulence factors in whooping cough disease, a mouse model has been used (2).
Pertussis: Pertussis also known as whopping cough is a highly contagious bacterial disease that causes an uncontrollable, severe coughing. It is a serious disease that can affect individual of all ages with severe complication resulting in permanent disability in infants and lastly death. The fact that this 7-months old baby stay up night, inability to sleep can make it hard to breathe. Burns, Cotter, Harvill, Hewlett, Merkel, Stibitz & Quinn explained that pertussis is an upper respiratory infection caused by the Bordetella pertussis bacteria in addition to the systemic manifestations such as “lympocytosis, dysregulated secr...
The symptoms of TB include bad cough which last for 3 weeks or more, chest pain, coughing with blood or sputum, weakness or tiredness, weight loss, no desire for food, chills, fever, and night sweats.
The idea behind vaccines is to provide the body with just enough of the disease-causing substance to trick the body into producing antibodies against it. By injecting weak or dead infectious agents through the skin, it’s believed that the body will create the appropriate immune defense. Infants come into the world with antibodies they have gotten from their mother through the placenta. Infants who are breastfed continue to receive many important antibodies in the colostrum (the thick, yellowish premilk that is secreted during the first few days after a woman gives birth) and breast milk. During the first year of life, the immunity an infant gets from its mother at birth wears off. To help boost the fading ability to fight certain diseases, vaccines are given. Once the antibodies are produced, they stay around, protecting the child against the disease they were designed to fight.
Sarah C.P. Williams, Babies Vulnerable When Mom Waits to Get Whooping Cough Vaccine, My Health News Daily, http://www.myhealthnewsdaily.com/newborns-vulnerable-pertussis-postpartum-vacciene-1979/, October 6, 2011
Throughout 1918 and 1919, influenza spread quickly in three waves killing an estimated 50 million to 100 million people worldwide. With the best-recorded first case having occurred in Fort Riley, the contagious flu spread across military camps around the United States. Due to the world war, the influenza virus was brought over to Europe where it infected people in nearly every country. This disease would end up causing one of the greatest pandemics in human history, but would also catalyze great advancements in science and medicine.
After a few days after developing a rash, it may change into small lumps all over the body. These symptoms may come just after a week of being infected. "The first symptoms may appear 12 to 14 days after you're infected." A rash will appear in the mouth and throat in the first few days, it will then spread to the face and arms and finally, the legs. The rashes will grow bigger as days go by, eventually transforming into large bumps filled with puss and fluid. Then these bumps are replaced with blisters, which will drop off and that indicates that the person has become infected and can possibly spread the disease.
(3) After two weeks, the symptoms are more severe and can range from vomiting to turning blue and/or whooping. Consequently, many people do not experience many symptoms and are often wrongly diagnosed. Pertussis is more frequently observed in young children than in adults. As a matter of fact, most adults are not diagnosed considering the majority do not experience any symptoms besides a hacking cough. (3) Pertussis is often diagnosed through multiple tests including blood tests and physical examinations which are unnecessary in situations where the whoop is present. (2) The most dependent test is made by the PCR or polymerase chain reaction. Mucus from the throat is used and combined with the
they are unable to take care of themselves. Not only does this disease affect the person
Vaccines should be put in children when are born to prevent any diseases when they are
When a child is born, the doctors start a regular vaccination schedule to keep them up to date. One thing that parents should be aware of is that before a child is two years old the blood cerebral barrier will still allow foreign proteins to directly enter into the brain where they might cause possible damage (Rau). If a child is sick then it’s best to wait until the child feels better before giving them a vaccine....
In the 1800’s the measles was a very dangerous disease, and when people who come in contact with it will die, if they have never been exposed to the virus before. The measles is transmitted through the air. The way that the virus is transmitted is that infected droplets are released by coughing, sneezing, and by talking. When the infected droplets that contain the measles are in the air, they are taken into the body through the mouth, nose and eyes of the potential person that could get the virus. People with low respiratory tract, which is the lungs and bronchi, are more likely to get the infection. During the next two to four days after the infection penetrates the body, the measles virus replicates in the respiratory cells and then spreads to the draining lymph nodes, where it reproduces again. Then it moves into the blood stream, carried by the white blood cells. This results in the virus being carried all over the body, which leads to infecting other places inside the body. During this time, the infected person feels fine and the measles infection and incubation stages are very unnoticeable. The next stage of the measles happens after eight to twelve days. The infected person has symptoms of fever, weakness and loss of appetite. Coughing and running of the eyes and nose are also seen. Now the infection is spreading all over the tissues through out the body. They also trigger the body’s immune system, which causes the symptoms. When the measles virus infects the immune system and interacts with the antibodies and T cells, a measles rash begins on the face and very quickly spreads to the body, arms and legs. The fever and cough become more intense after the fifth day. The rash turns into 3-4 mm red maculopapular lesions, which are flat and slightly raised. Pretty much this virus starts on the face, behind the ears, and moves downward all over the body. After awhile the rash begins to disappear, but the immune system is still weak. Making people who were infected with the measles more prone to other infections, making the immune system more susceptible to become infected, which in the early days of the measles caused many deaths.
The symptoms may vary on the infected. In most cases though the infected goes through two stages. The first stage is the acute phase followed by the toxic phase. During the acute stage some symptoms that appear
Vaccines are approved by doctors who put the child’s safety first. "Vaccines are only given to children after a long and careful review by scientists, doctors, and healthcare professionals . . . The disease-prevention benefits of getting vaccines are much greater than the possible side effects for almost all children"(“Five Important Reasons to Vaccinate Your Child”). Doctors take into consideration any allergies or other negative effects that could hurt the child and not getting vaccinated could lead to outbreaks. One unvaccinated child led to an infection of measles in 131 people (Sun). Immunizations have reduced and eliminated many diseases that killed or severely disabled people just a few generations ago. For example, the smallpox vaccination