CLINICAL SYMPTOMS AND COMPLICATIONS OF WHOOPING COUGH IN CHILDREN AND ADULTS

Clinical symptoms of whooping cough were observed in 100 children and 16 adults who fell ill in 1976–1977 during two whooping cough epidemics and as sporadic cases. The diagnosis of all patients was confirmed by positive Bordetella pertussis cultures.All unvaccinated children (13/13 = 100%), most of whom were less than one year old, showed typical whooping cough. The vaccinated children were one to 15 years old. Of these, 37/87(43% developed typical, 43/87(49%) atypical, and 5/87(6%) abortive whooping cough and 2/87(2%) were symptomless bacteria carriers. The adults, who were parents of these children, had their second attack of whooping cough. The clinical course was typical in 4/16(25%) and atypical in 7/16(44%), while 3/16(19%) showed abortive whooping cough and 2/16(13%) were symptomless bacteria carriers.Children aged six months or less showed leuco‐ and lymphocytosis, whereas vaccinated children 5–15 years old exhibited no changes of the white cell count.The erythrocyte sedimentation rate was generally normal. The most common complication was pneumonia in unvaccinated children (14/35 = 40%) and otitis media in vaccinated children (9/91 =10%).