Whooping Cough

Pertussis, commonly referred to as whooping cough, was first identified in 1578 by French physician Guillaume Baillou who described the disease, which affected mostly children, as an irritation of the lungs in which patients experienced high fevers, swelling, fatigue, vomiting, and upset stomachs. The disease was characterized by a “whooping” cough, and death often resulted from hemorrhages or asphyxiations brought on by excessive coughing or from the pneumonia and bronchitis that often accompanied the disease. Symptoms were generally less severe in adults.

Doctors had little understanding of the disease, and it was resistant to all known medications. Folklore methods, such as taking a patient to a high hill where the air was clear or administering powdered mice in milk or white ants brewed in tea, also proved useless. In the 17th century, British physician Thomas Sydenham named the disease pertussis, meaning [Page 1760]“severe cough” in Latin. By the early 20th century, scientists had isolated the bacterium that caused whooping cough and learned that it is spread through coughing, sneezing, or mucus.

England lost more than 120,000 people to pertussis between 1588 and 1865, and around 84,000 Prussians died from the disease between 1875 and 1880. One of the worst epidemics on record occurred in Scandinavia over a 15-year period in the 18th century when approximately 3,000 lives were lost each year. By the turn of the 20th century, whooping cough epidemics were still ravaging populations around the world, frequently claiming the lives of all children within a family. The United States experienced epidemics in the 1920s and 1930s, and it was estimated that 73 percent of all American children had contracted the disease by the age of 10.

The first pertussis vaccine was developed in 1912 by Belgian scientists Jules Bordet and Octave Gengou. After several refinements to the vaccine, the first completely successful vaccine was developed by American scientists Pearl Kendrick and Grace Eldering in 1938. Improved sanitation, nutrition, housing, and healthcare also helped to cut down on the spread of the disease. During World War II, the introduction of antibiotics, allowing pneumonia and bronchitis to be treated, led to a substantial drop in fatalities associated with whooping cough.

The pertussis vaccination, which is given in conjunction with vaccinations against diphtheria and tetanus (DPT), has proved to be extremely controversial. After taking the vaccines, many infants run fevers up to 103 degrees Fahrenheit and experience a period of lethargy and heavy sleeping. Other postvaccine symptoms include high-pitched screaming, an inability to be comforted, and loss of consciousness. A minority of infants develop medication-resistant convulsions, mental retardation, learning disabilities, hyperactivity, or physical handicaps. Some children die from pertussis-related complications, and a number of researchers have linked the vaccine to the onset of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

Parents are advised to discuss with their pediatricians the possibility that pertussis be removed from the DPT regimen for infants who have suffered negative reactions. The nonprofit organization, Dissatisfied Parents Together, based in Vienna, Virginia, provides information for parents who wish to know more about the vaccine.

Critics of the pertussis vaccination claim that drug companies in some countries place desire for profit over the health of children. The medical profession has also earned a share of the criticism for not doing an adequate job of educating parents about possible side effects of the vaccines that are given at two, four, and six months, supplemented by two additional shots. In the United States, the vaccine is required for entry into school, and 96 percent of all children receive the vaccine. Japan has developed an alternate vaccine that is considered safer, and some nations in western Europe have removed pertussis from the list of required vaccines.

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