WHAT IS PERTUSSIS?
Learn about this highly contagious disease and how you can help yourself and your family stay protected.
Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, is a highly contagious disease that causes severe coughing spells. People who get pertussis develop thick, sticky mucus in the airways. This causes a series of short coughs in rapid succession.1 Whooping cough can have serious consequences, including pneumonia, seizures, brain damage (due to stopped breathing), and even death.1 It may take up to 4 weeks before the symptoms start to get better, and full recovery can take several more weeks.1
Pertussis is commonly called whooping cough because some people with the disease often make a loud “whoop” sound as they struggle to breathe through the narrowed airways between coughing spasms.1
Vaccination is one of the best ways to help your family and yourself stay protected against pertussis. Talk to your doctor today about pertussis protection for both adults and adolescents with ADACEL vaccine.
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Click below to learn more about pertussis.
What is pertussis?
Listen to the cough
The symptoms of pertussis
How is pertussis spread?
Pertussis complications
Reported cases of pertussis remain high
Pertussis stories
Reference: 1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Epidemiology and Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Disease. Atkinson W, Hamborsky J, McIntyre L, Wolfe S, eds. 10th ed. Washington, DC: Public Health Foundation, 2007.
SAFETY INFORMATION
Indication
Adacel vaccine is given as a single dose to people 11 through 64 years of age for active booster immunization for the prevention of tetanus (lockjaw), diphtheria, and pertussis (whooping cough).
Safety Information
Side effects to Adacel vaccine include injection site pain, redness, and swelling; headache, body ache, tiredness, and fever. Tell your doctor if you have ever experienced a severe brain disorder, such as encephalopathy (altered consciousness) or Guillain-Barré syndrome (severe muscle weakness), after a previous dose of a tetanus toxoid- or pertussis-containing vaccine. Other side effects may occur. Vaccination with Adacel vaccine may not protect all people receiving the vaccine.
For more information about Adacel vaccine, talk to your health-care professional.
Last modified: 2/20/09
