Pertussis is an acute respiratory infection caused by a bacterium called Bordetella pertussis.
This infection is highly contagious (especially in unvaccinated persons). Transmission is from person to person through small droplets of respiratory fluids containing the bacteria that the sick person expels with coughing and move through the air favoring the spread. Pertussis is an illness that usually lasts several weeks.
The symptoms that appear are divided into 3 different stages: a catarrhal period lasting 1-2 weeks, a period of access or coughing fits lasting 2-4 weeks and a final period of convalescence or remission lasting 1-3 weeks.
The diagnosis is made through clinical history, and is confirmed with a laboratory test called PCR of nasopharyngeal mucus aspirate or smear.
Treatment is with oral antibiotics. Vaccination is the main preventive measure for this disease.
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