Krztusiec - powracająca choroba zakaźna. Scenariusz kliniczny z omówieniem aktualnej sytuacji epidemicznej i profilaktyki.

Whooping cough is an acute bacterial infection of the respiratory tract caused by Bordetella pertussis. After a significant decline in incidence among infants and young children, observed after the introduction of universal vaccinations against pertussis in the 60s of the twentieth century in Poland, increase in reported pertussis cases has been observed for more than ten years, with the shift to older age groups, which is explained by gradually waning of the acquired immunity with high infectivity of the disease and the constant presence of pathogenic micro-organism in the population. The clinical course can be significantly alleviated and highly nonspecific, without the typical coughing and vomiting in people vaccinated against whooping cough a few years ago. Each physician should consider pertussis in the differential diagnosis of cough lasting more than seven days. Control of pertussis requires regular universal dTpa booster vaccinations for adolescents and adults. With the rising incidence among adolescents and young adults, timely vaccination of infants who are at highest risk for severe pertussis and the development of complications are particularly important [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]