ATLANTA (CDC) -- Medical care providers should consider pertussis as a cause of new cough illness in persons of all ages.

In 2000, 17 pertussis (i.e., whooping cough) deaths were reported in the United States. All deaths occurred in U.S.-born infants who became sick before 4 months of age. Infants vulnerable to Bordetella pertussis infection are those aged <6 months or those who have not yet received 3 doses of diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and acellular pertussis (DTaP) vaccine. B. pertussis can be transmitted to vulnerable infants by infected parents, siblings, and others.

To help prevent additional cases of pertussis, antibiotics can be used to treat persons with pertussis and their close contacts, including exposed infants. Timely vaccination of infants and children according to current recommendations remains the most effective way for parents and health-care providers to prevent pertussis. Infants should receive the first DTaP vaccine at age 2 months, followed by doses at ages 4, 6, and 15-18 months, and a booster dose at age 4-6 years.