whooping cough

[dr.mt...@gmail.com]

That is apparently what I caught at the end of Feb.

Caused by a bacteria bordetella pertussis,  I 

associated it with bygone illnesses of the Victorian

age.

It has however made a comeback in the UK, helped

by the introduction of a newer safer vaccine against

the disease.   Unfortunately this new vaccine is far less 

effective against the spread of the illness.   So we

have a mini epidemic amongst adults.

Whooping cough was a great killer of babies 100 years

ago.   The progression is exactly as with me.  A sinus

infection followed by a mass of mucus and developing

into a very deep mucus cough that causes you to go 

dizzy.  

The illness is treatable if it is caught early with antibiotics, 

but because it starts low key as a snuffle and a bit of a fever

a lot of people, like myself, do not rush to the doctor.  

The appearance of an infant disease amongst adults has

caught doctors by surprise.  For the first time they have 

started testing adults for the disease and finding the tests

positive.  

However now > 2 months in, I may not test positive and what we

have is an immune response.   It takes a time to get over

this infection, so again, I'm going to be down for a time.  But

at least we know odds on what has made me ill.

Mark