Pertussis Case Study

The case study subject is P.L., a twenty- three year-old teacher that is being seen in a clinic for upper respiratory symptoms she has had for two weeks. The patients presents with mild fever, thick but clear mucous from her nose, malaise and swollen cervical lymph nodes. The patient reports her cough continues to increase, consistently becoming more forceful. P.L. reports she works in a school that has fifty-four students diagnosed with pertussis, five of those students are in her class.
Risk
P.L. is at risk for contracting pertussis because pertussis is spread when infected persons cough or sneeze. The cough or sneeze produces droplets in the air that contain the Bordella pertussis bacteria. People in close contact with each other inhale

Catarrhal by definition means “inflammation of a mucous membrane, especially of the respiratory tract, accompanied by excessive secretions” (Dictionary, 2016). In this stage the infected person has the symptoms P.L. is exhibiting. This stage may last one to two weeks and during this time the infected person is highly contagious (CDC, 2016). The second stage of pertussis is called the paroxysmal stage (CDC, 2016). In the paroxysmal stage the infected person’s cough evolves into coughing fits or paroxysms followed by a “whoop” sound (CDC 2016). This stage may last up to ten weeks after first contracting pertussis. In this stage the infected person becomes exhausted from the continuous coughing and may have bouts of emesis after coughing. The last stage is called the convalescent stage and may last two to three weeks after the paroxysmal stage (CDC, 2016). In the convalescent stage the infected person’s coughing had decreased but they may still have bouts of coughing fits (CDC, 2016). According to the Centers for Disease Control recovery is gradual and the person remains at risk during this time period for other respiratory infections (CDC,