Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, is a highly contagious disease, which is most dangerous to infants less than one year old. About half of the babies reported nationally to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as having the disease are hospitalized. As many as 16/100 babies reported with pertussis get pneumonia, and about 2/100 have convulsions. For those babies reported to have pertussis, about 1/500 has brain problems, some of which can become permanent, and about 1/250 will die because of complications from the disease. Serious illness is less likely in older children and adults. Pertussis vaccine is generally administered in combination with diphtheria and tetanus vaccines, known as DTP vaccine. A primary series of DTP keeps 70-90/100 children from getting pertussis, usually through the elementary school years at least. About half of the children who receive DTP vaccine will not experience any discomfort at all. Some will have minor problems such as soreness, swelling and redness where the shot was given; fever; fussiness; drowsiness; and loss of appetite lasting 1-2 days. Once per 100 to 1000 shots, moderate problems can occur: crying non-stop for 3 hours or more, fever of 105 degrees (F) or higher. For 1 shot in 1750, a child may experience a seizure (convulsions, fits, spasms, twitching, jerking, or staring spells) usually caused by fever, or collapse or fainting (becoming blue, pale, limp, and non-responsive). Very rarely, DTP causes long seizures, decreased consciousness, or coma that usually does not last. Permanent brain damage can very infrequently follow such acute brain problems. There are no tests that can tell in advance if a child will be adversely affected by the DTP vaccine. Definitely the benefits from the DTP vaccine far outweigh the risks for almost all children.

来源：EPI newsletter 1994 年 16卷 3期