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Pertussis (whooping cough) can cause serious illness in babies, children, teens, and adults. Symptoms of pertussis usually develop within 5 to 10 days after you are exposed. Sometimes pertussis symptoms do not develop for as long as 3 weeks.

Early Symptoms

The disease usually starts with cold-like symptoms and maybe a mild cough or fever. In babies, the cough can be minimal or not even there. Babies may have a symptom known as “apnea.” Apnea is a pause in the child’s breathing pattern. Pertussis is most dangerous for babies. About half of babies younger than 1 year who get the disease need care in the hospital.  Early symptoms can last for 1 to 2 weeks and usually include:

• Runny nose
• Low-grade fever (generally minimal throughout the course of the disease)
• Mild, occasional cough
• Apnea – a pause in breathing (in babies)

Pertussis in its early stages appears to be nothing more than the common cold. Therefore, healthcare professionals often do not suspect or diagnose it until the more severe symptoms appear.

Later-stage Symptoms

After 1 to 2 weeks and as the disease progresses, the traditional symptoms of pertussis may appear and include:

• Paroxysms (fits) of many, rapid coughs followed by a high-pitched “whoop” sound
• Vomiting (throwing up) during or after coughing fits
• Exhaustion (very tired) after coughing fits.  Isolation Precautions
  Standard and droplet precautions are recommended for 5 days after initiation of therapy or until 3 weeks after cough onset.
  Prevention for Patients
  Vaccination is the best prevention method.   Trap vaccine is recommended for pregnant women during their third trimester to help protect the infant. Also, it is recommended for anyone who will be caring for the infant to also have a Tdap vaccine.
  Public Health Actions
  Untreated individuals should be excluded from school or childcare for 3 weeks following the onset of a cough and treated individuals should be excluded until 5 days of antibiotic treatment is completed. 
  Public health will conduct an epidemiological investigation on a case or suspect case.