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Pertussis (Bordetella pertussis) (Whooping
Cough)
1995 Case Definition
Clinical case definition
A cough illness lasting at least 2 weeks with one
of the following: paroxysms of coughing, inspiratory "whoop," or
post-tussive vomiting, without other apparent cause (as reported
by a health professional)
Laboratory criteria for diagnosis
Case classification
Probable: meets
the clinical case definition, is not laboratory confirmed, and
is not epidemiologically linked to a laboratory-confirmed case
Confirmed: a case that is laboratory confirmed
or that meets the clinical case definition and is epidemiologically
linked to a laboratory-confirmed case. A laboratory confirmed
case in a person who has cough does not need to meet the clinical
case definition.
Comment
The clinical case definition above is appropriate
for endemic or sporadic cases. In outbreak settings, a case may
be defined as a cough illness lasting at least 2 weeks (as reported
by a health professional). Because direct fluorescent antibody
testing of nasopharyngeal secretions has been demonstrated in
some studies to have low sensitivity and variable specificity
(9,10), such testing should not be relied on as a criterion for
laboratory confirmation. Serologic testing for pertussis is available
in some areas but is not standardized and, therefore, should
not be relied on as a criterion for laboratory confirmation.
Both probable and confirmed cases should be reported nationally.
References
9. Broome CV, Fraser DW, English
WJ. Pertussis--diagnostic methods and surveillance. In: Manclark CR, Hill JC,
eds. International Symposium on Pertussis. Bethesda, MD: US Department of
Health, Education, and Welfare, Public Health Service, National Institutes
of Health, 1979; DHEW publication no. (NIH)79-1830:19-22.
10. Halperin SA, Bortolussi R, Wort AJ. Evaluation of culture, immunofluorescence, and
serology for the diagnosis of pertussis. J Clin Microbiol 1989;27:752-7.
See also:
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