[Does pertussis in adolescents and adults concern general practitioners?].
A significant resurgence of whooping-cough has been observed in countries with high vaccine coverage. More than half of the cases reported in Belgium occur in children aged less than 6 months. However, many authors report that Bordetella infection is diagnosed in 30 to 40% of adults and teenagers who suffer from a cough lasting more than 7 days. This article addresses the practical consequences of this epidemiological evolution for general practitioners. The clinical presentation is not very specific and differential diagnosis includes infectious as well as non-infectious affections. Diagnostic methods--bacterial culture techniques, PCR and serological tests--are not always easily available to general practitioners. Confirmed diagnosis of a case of whooping-cough presents an interest both at the individual, as well as collective level: evidence of a cycle of transmission between adults and very young infants has been shown, and prophylactic measures are therefore requested. The widespread use of an acellular vaccine among teenager and adult populations should provide an answer to this public health concern. General practitioners should be made aware of the epidemiological evolution of whooping-cough and should be alert to clinical symptoms possibly related to Bordetella infection of adults.
Giet
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D
Faculté de Médecine, Département de Médecine Générale, Université de Liège. d.giet@ulg.ac.be
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans; D010821:Physicians, Family; D014917:Whooping Cough / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents