PERTUSSIS COMPLICATIONS
Learn more about the complications associated with this serious disease.
Pertussis affects the health and well-being of both adults and adolescents. Many adolescents and adults who contract pertussis have classic signs and symptoms, such as1:
- 97% cough for > 3 weeks
- 69% suffer from whoop
- Complications can include pneumonia, hospitalization, rib fractures, and cyanosis1,2
Pertussis can also lead to lost days of school for adolescents and work for adults.1
While adolescents and adults usually get a mild form of pertussis, they are still contagious and can easily transmit the disease to vulnerable infants.3 Learn more about pertussis—talk to your doctor about vaccination 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
References: 1. De Serres G, Shadmani R, Duval B, et al. Morbidity of pertussis in adolescents and adults. J Infect Dis. 2000;182:174-179. 2. Yih WK, Lett SM, des Vignes FN, Garrison KM, Sipe PL, Marchant CD. The increasing incidence of pertussis in Massachusetts adolescents and adults, 1989-1998. J Infect Dis. 2000;182:1409-1416. 3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Epidemiology and Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases. 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
