Pertussis Infection in Adults

Introduction
The Clinician Treating an infant with paroxysmal cough, inspiratory whoops, cyanosis, and lymphocytosis will rarely miss the diagnosis of pertussis. However, pertussis is unlikely to be considered in the differential diagnosis when the parent of this infant has a prolonged cough. Pertussis infection in adults is frequently mild or subclinical, and many physicians are unaware that the disease occurs outside the pediatric population. Nevertheless, it is now evident that, because of waning immunity from childhood vaccination, pertussis infection is common in adults.

Physicians need to be familiar with pertussis in adults. Adults are the major reservoir of disease; susceptible infants may acquire pertussis not only from another child, but also from an infected adult. As many as 25% of coughing adult patients seen in primary care clinics have pertussis, though it may be unsuspected. The disease is also costly since patients may be evaluated many times, may have expensive diagnostic tests done, and often are prescribed multiple courses of antibiotics.

Page updated 24 Aug 2007