Podcast: WHAT DOES YOUR DOCTOR SAY?
Episode: Whooping cough? It's a vaccine!
Leading: Dariusz Litera
Guest: Dr. Anna Skiba, pediatrician
Duration: 10 minutes
Whooping cough is an infectious disease that many parents considered a problem of past decades. However, recent months in Poland have seen a significant increase in cases, among both children and adults. Questions about symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and the effectiveness of vaccinations are increasingly being raised.
In this episode WHAT DOES YOUR DOCTOR SAY? Dariusz Litera talks to Dr. Anna Skiba, a pediatrician, about the causes of whooping cough recurrence, the course of the disease, its contagiousness, and the role of vaccinations, both mandatory for children and recommended for adults and pregnant women.
Full podcast transcript:
[00:00:00] Introduction
Dariusz Litera:
Whooping cough. A disease that many parents considered a thing of the past is now making a comeback—and unfortunately, with a vengeance. Increasingly frequent cases are causing concern among parents. Questions about vaccinations and treatments for this dangerous disease are also multiplying. Want to learn how to recognize whooping cough in your child and how it's treated? Today, your doctor is pediatrician Dr. Anna Skiba. Good morning, Dr.
Dr. Anna Skiba:
Good morning.
[00:00:25] Why is whooping cough coming back?
Dariusz Litera:
Whooping cough – in recent months and weeks, many people were terrified by reports of new cases. There were also rumors that the number would continue to grow. Why is a disease associated with the past suddenly returning with such intensity in Poland?
Dr. Anna Skiba:
It's true – this season has been a tough one for both pediatricians and internists in terms of infections. Whooping cough was a major problem.
It's important to note that whooping cough appears in waves. Every few years, we experience compensatory epidemics. We saw an increase in cases in 2012, then in 2016–2017. Then came the lockdown – we all isolated ourselves and didn't develop natural immunity. Our immune systems, as it were, "reset.".
After the lockdown, medical history began to rewrite itself. Familiar diseases changed their course, pathogens mutated, and infections began to strike with a vengeance. Whooping cough was to be expected—and indeed, our predictions proved correct. This year, we experienced a significant number of cases.
Additionally, the vaccination rate is falling. We can no longer rely on herd immunity because too few people are getting vaccinated.
[00:01:49] Is vaccination against whooping cough mandatory?
Dariusz Litera:
Is this a mandatory vaccination?
Dr. Anna Skiba:
Yes, it's mandatory for children. Unfortunately, we're seeing a growing number of parents choosing not to vaccinate their children. This is a scale never seen before.
Dariusz Litera:
This means they expose the child to danger of loss of health or life.
Dr. Anna Skiba:
Unfortunately, yes. Parents often act in good faith – they've read disturbing information about vaccines and want to protect their child from the supposed dangers. However, they don't have the full picture of how serious the disease itself can be.
For adults, pertussis vaccination is not mandatory—it is recommended. Booster doses are recommended every 10 years. Fortunately, more and more people are becoming aware of this.
We also vaccinate pregnant women – this is a vaccination recommended during pregnancy, currently completely free of charge, performed at the turn of the second and third trimester.
[00:02:47] Why do we vaccinate pregnant women?
Dariusz Litera:
Does this vaccination provide immunity to the child?
Dr. Anna Skiba:
First and foremost, it provides immunity to the baby. We vaccinate pregnant women precisely because of the newborn's health.
We vaccinate every pregnancy—even if it's a year-to-year pregnancy and it hasn't been 5 or 10 years since the previous vaccination. This is for the child's well-being.
A newborn is born with maternal antibodies. The mother produces antibodies and passes them to the baby through the placenta. This means the baby is not completely defenseless – it has a pool of antibodies capable of quickly neutralizing pertussis toxin.
Of course, these antibodies disappear – after 4–6 months their levels drop significantly.
Dariusz Litera:
That is why vaccination is included in the vaccination calendar.
Dr. Anna Skiba:
Yes. The first dose is administered after six weeks of age, and the second dose after two months. At that time, the baby begins to produce its own antibodies.
Dariusz Litera:
And it's safe.
Dr. Anna Skiba:
It's safe.
[00:03:50] Why is whooping cough dangerous?
Dariusz Litera:
Why is whooping cough such a dangerous disease?
Dr. Anna Skiba:
First of all, it's highly contagious, even more so than chickenpox. The risk of infection after close contact with an infected person is as high as 80%. That's a lot.
The infection is spread through droplets from coughs and sneezes. We contract the infection from an infected person, not from a carrier. The problem is that adults often don't realize they have the disease. In older children and adults, whooping cough can present as a persistent, long-lasting cough that doesn't warrant diagnosis. We go to school or work with such a cough.
Dariusz Litera:
We say: the child had a cold and is still coughing.
Dr. Anna Skiba:
Exactly. Vaccinated individuals experience milder illness—but they do get sick. The vaccine is approximately 851 TP3T effective in preventing severe illness. However, 71–781 TP3T individuals will not develop the disease at all within a few years of vaccination. After 10 years, immunity wanes.
It's not a very effective vaccine, but it's the only tool we have.
[00:05:25] What is whooping cough? Can it be confused with a cold?
Dariusz Litera:
Is it difficult to distinguish whooping cough from the flu or a cold?
Dr. Anna Skiba:
Absolutely. Whooping cough can present as bronchitis, pneumonia, the common cold, or a chronic cough.
According to the textbook, the disease has three phases.
The first phase lasts a week or two and resembles the common cold: dry cough, runny nose, low-grade fever, and sore throat. At this stage, we rarely think about whooping cough unless we know of a source of infection.
The second phase is characterized by a characteristic paroxysmal cough—a series of successive coughs, often with a "crowding" sound upon inhalation. In young children, this can be very serious: fainting, bruising, and facial hemorrhages can occur. In vaccinated individuals, the symptoms may be milder.
The third phase is the recovery phase. The cough persists for a long time, primarily at night. In the past, whooping cough was called the "cough of the hundred"—from one hundred days of coughing, or three to four months.
[00:07:36] Do adults have more severe whooping cough?
Dariusz Litera:
Apparently older people experience it worse?
Dr. Anna Skiba:
Older people and those with chronic illnesses – yes. Often, they were vaccinated long ago or not at all.
[00:07:48] Whooping cough treatment
Dariusz Litera:
How do we treat this disease?
Dr. Anna Skiba:
We treat with an oral, well-tolerated macrolide antibiotic. The treatment can last, for example, five days.
We administer antibiotics primarily to shorten the infectious period and limit the spread of bacteria. Unfortunately, by the time treatment begins, the toxins have already been released and bound to the body's cells. This is a disease of toxins—the body must neutralize them itself.
The antibiotic stops the bacteria from multiplying further, but does not immediately eliminate the symptoms.
[00:08:31] The role of booster vaccinations
Dariusz Litera:
So at the beginning we are often unable to distinguish whooping cough.
Dr. Anna Skiba:
Very rarely is the diagnosis clear from the first visit. Most often, we have information about the source of the infection.
Dariusz Litera:
In this case, vaccination is the only way to protect yourself against a severe form of the disease.
Dr. Anna Skiba:
Absolutely. Vaccines can cause mild side effects, such as arm pain, redness, and transient fever. We inform patients about this.
The balance of benefits and risks clearly supports vaccination. It's worth checking when you were last vaccinated. If it's been more than 10 years, I encourage you to get vaccinated at your primary care physician's office.
Dariusz Litera:
We go to the doctor and say that we don't remember any vaccinations in the last 10 years - and what next?
Dr. Anna Skiba:
The doctor writes a prescription. The vaccine can be purchased at a pharmacy or clinic, and—if you're healthy—you can get vaccinated.
[00:09:43] Ending
Dariusz Litera:
Dr. Anna Skiba, a pediatrician, was a guest on the "What Does Your Doctor Say?" podcast. Thank you for joining us. I hope that everyone who cares about the health of children and adults will consider scheduling vaccinations.
Dr. Anna Skiba:
Thank you very much. I strongly encourage you to get vaccinated. We will do our best in our office to ensure that the vaccinations are conducted in a friendly atmosphere and with as little stress as possible.
Key takeaways for patients:
- Whooping cough is very contagious – the risk of infection after contact is up to 80%.
- The disease returns in waves; an increase in cases is currently observed.
- The decline in vaccination rates weakens population immunity.
- Vaccination is mandatory for children, and recommended every 10 years for adults.
- Vaccination of pregnant women protects the newborn by transferring antibodies across the placenta.
- The initial phase of the disease resembles a cold – diagnosis can be difficult.
- Antibiotics shorten the infectious period but do not immediately eliminate symptoms.
- The balance of benefits and risks clearly supports vaccination.
Information about the authors:
Dr. Anna Skiba – specialist in pediatrics, deals with the diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases in children and preventive vaccinations.
Dariusz Litera – journalist and creator of the podcast "CO NA TO TWÓJ ELEKARZ", specializing in medical communication and health education.
Attention!
The material is educational and informational.
It does not replace an individual medical consultation.