A Whooping Good Time

So, in the ongoing drama of my coworker who was sicker than sick on Monday and coughing without covering her mouth, we have just been notified that she was diagnosed with whooping cough yesterday. Lovely. Joyful. Thank you for exposing the whole office to it right before Thanksgiving so we can spread it around some more.

Our office coordinator is currently trying to get ahold of someone in the College of Public Heath to get a better idea of what our risks are and who should be watching their health more closely. Grrrrrrrr.



"Whooping cough is a prolonged illness with an initial bronchitis. In the second or third week, it settles down to a series of 10-to-15 staccato coughs in one breath, followed by a crowing whooping inspiration. This interferes with oxygen intake and the child may have blueish skin and red injected eyes. There is copious mucus. Vomiting after a coughing spell is common. There are 10-to-50 whoops per day, often worse at night. A mother does not transfer immunity to her child. There is a very marked increase in the blood lymphocytes. Whooping cough can also occur as bronchitis without the whoop. Complications are pneumonia, seizures, apnea (temporary cessation of breathing), or degenerative brain disease (encephalopathy), the need for hospital care and death. The disease is very communicable and about 80% of susceptible household contacts get it. Erythromycin-like drugs can prevent the spread in a few days. Diagnosis is easier than it used to be and is by PCR (polymerase chain reaction) or multiplying up the bacterial DNA."