Oh crap - whooping cough!!!

My SiL just called to let me know her DD (3.5) has whooping cough!!!!!! Whilst its only a mild case - I visited with my DS 9 days ago :wall: Both DS and I are vaccinated ( I had my booster 6 months ago) - but so was my neice????

Area Health advised her to advise me to go for antibiotics, possibly for both of us - but I'm unsure of what else I should do. He is not sick but he has been to FDC the last two days and has to go again on Monday. Am I able to send him? Should I tell my carer? I have been back at work 1 week and can't take time off:wall: What are the chances of him getting sick? Or me? (of couse I am noew feeling "wheezy" and DID have a coughing fit this afternoon - I'm such a hypochindriac :redface:) I also saw my mothers group on Thursday....do I scare them although he probably doesn't have it???

I called HealthDirect/Nurse on Call and she just read some stuff of the computer - she had no idea really????

What should I do? Advice gratefully received!

Maybe get a blood test?? From the CYH Wbsite:

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Diagnosis of whooping cough

• During an outbreak of whooping cough it is usually possible to diagnose whooping cough from the symptoms.
• Blood tests and tests on mucous from the nose or throat can be done to confirm that the illness is whooping cough. Xrays may be done to check how well the lungs are working.

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Was her DD coughing when you went over there? If she wasn't coughing then it would be more difficult for her to transmit the disease.

Again, if your son wasn't coughing, then again it is unlikely if he did have it that he would have passed it on.

If it was at all possible, i'd stay low for a couple of days at home. Have you looked at what the incubation period is?
If he has to go to care, then i think it would be fair to let the carer know about the situation.

DD, DH and my nephew have Whooping Cough atm.

The incubation time is 21 days. Go and get the antibiotics, he's allowed to go back to FDC as long as he's taking them. The Dr will be able to tell you if he has to be excluded from car and how long he has to be off for. You'll also need to notify the carer and the Dr may notify the health dept.

The health dept will call your sister. Find out if she named you when they contacted her. If she did they will contact you and give you all the info you need.

Pertussis (whooping cough) usually requires an extended period of close contact to spread - that is why it tends to spread through households.

It is not true, unfortunately, that the child is most contagious when they are coughing; in actual fact, the early symptoms are basic cold symptoms, and it is at this stage (before the cough starts) they they are most contagious.

The vaccination is between 60 and 90% effective, depending on which one you are given and which literature you read. It is actually one of the lesser effective immunisations. Immunity wanes with time as well - the majority of people infected in the most recent outbreak were adults.

You are infective from the first cold symptoms, through to 21 days later. The characteristic cough usually appears a week into the illness. Babies may not have the whoop, but they will often have a post-cough vomit. If you are suspected to have the disease, you will probably be offered an antibiotic called eryhtromycin; this will not make the disease any better, but it does cut down the infective period from 21 days, to 7 days after the start of antibiotics. The cough can persist for up to three months; the cough is actually not caused by the pertussis germ itself, but by a toxin it releases, which takes months to be eliminated from the body.

In terms of family day care, I think, depending on the amount and duration of contact you had with your niece, your risk of catching pertussis is low. As long as he does not contract any respirator symptoms, you should be safe. If you want to be sure, you can start him on eryhtromycin; he will be clear to return to FDC after 7 days.

Good luck!