Can you Get Whooping Cough Twice?

What is whooping cough?

Whooping cough, or otherwise known as pertussis, is a type of respiratory infection that is caused by a bacterium called Bordetella pertussis. This type of cough differs from any other usually coughs and colds since it is highly contagious and is characterized by coughing that is always followed or ended with a loud or noticeable whooping aspiration.

This kind of infection is common among young children and infants, but adults are not excluded. This is also prevalent among children who have not received any immunization or vaccine (DPT vaccine) against this type of infection. Nowadays, despite the presence of vaccines, there are still some people who get infected by this type of bacteria. This makes some people ask the question; can you get whooping cough twice?

Can you get whooping cough twice?

Pertussis is a highly transmittable infection that is passed through with the means of air droplets at close range. Because of this high risk of becoming infected with Bordetella pertussis, many people are now being careful about coming in contact with infected individuals. But the question is, are those people who already experienced pertussis once can still experience or develop the same kind of illness for the second time? The answer to this question is yes, but the possibility of it happening is considered very low. Whenever we are infected by a certain bacteria or virus, our body usually reacts to that pathogen in the form of the symptoms we experience when we are ill. During this course, our defenses are still on the process of making natural antibodies in order to fight off the disease. Along with the help of some drugs and medications, our immune can now stop or eliminate the causative agents in our body. The time for our body to make such antibodies may be long. Some take days while others can take months just to create these antibodies.

As soon as we have already recovered from this infection, our body is already considered immune since it has already produced antibodies that can specifically identify and attack the specific type of bacteria, which is the Bordetella pertussis. Once this bacterium attacks our system for the second time, it will only cause us minor coughs and colds. Others may even experience no symptoms at all. This is due to the capability of our body to defend our system from such a specific kind of bacteria. However, if our immune is weak, then there is still the possibility of obtaining whooping cough just as severe as the first time it invaded our body.

Aside from this, active artificial immunity is also achieved once we are being immunized against pertussis. This vaccine works since it contains inactive pertussis bacteria that aid our body in developing antibodies on our own even without being attacked by the real or active bordetella pertussis. This is the reason why immunization is very ideal for all babies since it helps their body in coping up with such infections thus preventing the appearance of any symptoms. These are the facts that can help us understand why there is less chance for us to obtain whooping cough for the second time.