title: Pertussis: a cluster of linked cases in the United Kingdom, 2006.
abstract: Pertussis is a vaccine-preventable disease with a high rate of complications, especially in young children. It often presents in an atypical fashion in adults and adolescents, making diagnosis difficult. This report describes a cluster of linked cases of three adults and one infant in a family, spread across the United Kingdom (UK). The initial follow-up was of a 20-year-old student with clinical symptoms of pertussis. This diagnosis led to the discovery of two other unvaccinated adult family members with symptoms that fit the case definition for pertussis and a laboratory-confirmed tertiary case in an unvaccinated infant who had to be hospitalised. This report aims to act as a reminder for including pertussis as a differential diagnosis in patients with a long duration of respiratory symptoms and highlights the importance of rapidly identifying and managing close contacts of cases. This is key in protecting the most vulnerable - namely, infants - from infection.
authors.affiliation: Thames Valley Health Protection Unit, Oxford, England, United Kingdom. chisha_wickrema@yahoo.com
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Weerasinghe
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fernandes
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bagaria
mesh_terms: D016000:Cluster Analysis; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D032541:Mass Vaccination / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011159:Population Surveillance; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D012307:Risk Factors; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology; D014917:Whooping Cough / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*