# One of my colleagues has just been sent home with whooping cough **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 1, 2009, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-my-colleagues-has-just-been-sent-home-with-whooping-cough/498326 "2009-06-01T05:37:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2009, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-my-colleagues-has-just-been-sent-home-with-whooping-cough/498326/1 "2009-06-01T05:37:03Z")
We’ve already got one person in quarantine due to the swine flu scare. So now we’re running a book on what the next disease will be. ---
**Author:** ![Gleena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b3f665/32.png) [@Gleena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gleena)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2009, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-my-colleagues-has-just-been-sent-home-with-whooping-cough/498326/2 "2009-06-01T06:31:02Z")
Whooping cough is all over Sydney like a bad rug. I had it courtesy of someone in my office who was misdiagnosed with bronchitis, when in fact it was the big WC. If you haven’t been vaccinated in the last 12 months or so you’re at risk. Good luck! ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2009, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-my-colleagues-has-just-been-sent-home-with-whooping-cough/498326/3 "2009-06-01T12:43:04Z")
I had whooping cough 3 years ago. I don’t recommend it. ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2009, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-my-colleagues-has-just-been-sent-home-with-whooping-cough/498326/4 "2009-06-01T12:49:56Z")
Total hijack…but the best typo I ever saw was on a tray liner at a McDonald’s. It was advocating vaccinations for childhood diseases, including “whopping couch.” ---
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2009, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-my-colleagues-has-just-been-sent-home-with-whooping-cough/498326/5 "2009-06-01T13:23:43Z")
> [@freckafree](#): > > …childhood diseases, including “whopping couch.” That one’s really dangerous - it produces obese kids. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2009, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-my-colleagues-has-just-been-sent-home-with-whooping-cough/498326/6 "2009-06-01T15:14:55Z")
I just got the whooping cough vaccine. My brother and his wife are having a kid, and the father-in-law (a pediatrician) said everyone in the family should get it, so as not to infect the baby. Apparently whooping cough is deadly to babies. It’s a decent vaccine - comes as a package deal with tetanus and diptheria. My arm is just now healing, though, but that’s because I am prone to allergic reactions. My mom had zero problems. If anyone’s interested, you can get the vaccine (Called DTaP) at CVS Minute Clinics for under $70. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2009, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-my-colleagues-has-just-been-sent-home-with-whooping-cough/498326/7 "2009-06-01T15:57:38Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > We’ve already got one person in quarantine due to the swine flu scare. I met up with my ex last week. After she gave me a big hug, she told me that her son is under quarantine for swine flu. Great. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2009, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-my-colleagues-has-just-been-sent-home-with-whooping-cough/498326/8 "2009-06-01T22:36:27Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > I just got the whooping cough vaccine. My brother and his wife are having a kid, and the father-in-law (a pediatrician) said everyone in the family should get it, so as not to infect the baby. Apparently whooping cough is deadly to babies. > > It’s a decent vaccine - comes as a package deal with tetanus and diptheria. My arm is just now healing, though, but that’s because I am prone to allergic reactions. My mom had zero problems. > > If anyone’s interested, you can get the vaccine (Called DTaP) at CVS Minute Clinics for under $70. pertussus almost killed me at 4 years old, do whatever you can to keep from getting it, or passing it along if you do end up with it … ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2009, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-my-colleagues-has-just-been-sent-home-with-whooping-cough/498326/9 "2009-06-01T22:39:06Z")
> [@Gleena](#): > > If you haven’t been vaccinated in the last 12 months or so you’re at risk. I haven’t been vaccinated against whooping cough in over thirty years. And since I sit next to this bloke all day, I think I’ve already been exposed to the risk. I’ll just have to wait and see… ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-my-colleagues-has-just-been-sent-home-with-whooping-cough/498326/10 "2009-06-02T00:33:49Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > I haven’t been vaccinated against whooping cough in over thirty years. And since I sit next to this bloke all day, I think I’ve already been exposed to the risk. I’ll just have to wait and see… For a singer like you getting this could really suck. I’ll keep my fingers crossed that it passes you by! ---
**Author:** ![Hirundo82](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/919ad9/32.png) [@Hirundo82](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hirundo82)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-my-colleagues-has-just-been-sent-home-with-whooping-cough/498326/11 "2009-06-02T01:51:02Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > I haven’t been vaccinated against whooping cough in over thirty years. And since I sit next to this bloke all day, I think I’ve already been exposed to the risk. I’ll just have to wait and see… In the US, the CDC [recommended in 2006](http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5517a1.htm) that adults recieve a onetime booster against pertussis by recieving the Tdap (tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid and acellular pertussis) instead of Td (recommended once every 10 years). This was in response to an observed incidence of pertussis, dispropotionately in adults. Australia [doesn’t seem to have the same recommendation](http://immunise.health.gov.au/internet/immunise/publishing.nsf/Content/nips2); the latest recommended dose is 15-17 years old. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-my-colleagues-has-just-been-sent-home-with-whooping-cough/498326/12 "2009-06-02T02:16:12Z")
How long has the pertussis vaccination been available for anyway? I have very little memory of what I was vaccinated for as a child (cholera and typhoid I remember … hope neither of those are a danger these days!) and now I’m wondering if I’ve even been done at all. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-my-colleagues-has-just-been-sent-home-with-whooping-cough/498326/13 "2009-06-02T02:33:38Z")
I suffered for 3-4 months when I had it, coughing at least once every 5-10 minutes the entire time. It’s not fun. ---
**Author:** ![Hirundo82](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/919ad9/32.png) [@Hirundo82](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hirundo82)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-my-colleagues-has-just-been-sent-home-with-whooping-cough/498326/14 "2009-06-02T03:03:29Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > How long has the pertussis vaccination been available for anyway? I have very little memory of what I was vaccinated for as a child (cholera and typhoid I remember … hope neither of those are a danger these days!) and now I’m wondering if I’ve even been done at all. According to the CDC, pertussis vaccination began being routinely recommended for children with the introduction of the DTP combination vaccine in the 1940’s. ---
**Author:** ![Gleena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b3f665/32.png) [@Gleena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gleena)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-my-colleagues-has-just-been-sent-home-with-whooping-cough/498326/15 "2009-06-02T03:51:29Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > I haven’t been vaccinated against whooping cough in over thirty years. And since I sit next to this bloke all day, I think I’ve already been exposed to the risk. I’ll just have to wait and see… Oh, ouchie. Good luck. I’m still coughing, though no longer contagious or really sick, per say, and it’s more than a month later. As a singer if you do get it have a chat to your GP about preserving your voice. I wish I could sugar coat it but it’s bloody awful. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-my-colleagues-has-just-been-sent-home-with-whooping-cough/498326/16 "2009-06-02T03:54:48Z")
> [@Hirundo82](#): > > According to the CDC, pertussis vaccination began being routinely recommended for children with the introduction of the DTP combination vaccine in the 1940’s. whew! I’m definitely younger than that 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-my-colleagues-has-just-been-sent-home-with-whooping-cough/498326/17 "2009-06-03T02:19:28Z")
> [@Gleena](#): > > Oh, ouchie. Good luck. Another colleague has succumbed now. I feel like I’m under siege. ---
**Author:** ![Gleena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b3f665/32.png) [@Gleena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gleena)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-my-colleagues-has-just-been-sent-home-with-whooping-cough/498326/18 "2009-06-03T03:50:40Z")
Have you thought about getting vaccinated? Would that even help now? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-my-colleagues-has-just-been-sent-home-with-whooping-cough/498326/19 "2009-06-03T09:01:10Z")
> [@Gleena](#): > > I wish I could sugar coat it but it’s bloody awful. Yup, it really, really, really sucks.