Public Health Considerations for Pertussis

Key points

  • Public health efforts related to pertussis center around surveillance, prevention, and outbreak response activities.
  • CDC developed the following resources to assist health department personnel in implementing public health strategies when appropriate.
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Surveillance and reporting

Pertussis is a nationally notifiable disease in the United States.

Get information on:

Surveillance manual

The Manual for the Surveillance of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases provides current guidelines for those involved in surveillance of vaccine-preventable diseases.

Prevention recommendations

CDC recommends vaccination and postexposure antimicrobial prophylaxis to prevent pertussis.

Specific guidance includes:

Other resources

Outbreaks

State and local health departments take the lead on outbreak investigations. Health departments can request assistance from CDC during outbreaks.

Diagnosis confirmation

Get information on the types of laboratory tests used to diagnose Bordetella pertussis and related best practices and specimen collection recommendations.

Keep Reading: Laboratory Testing for Pertussis

Resources

Posters, fact sheets, and videos

View and download materials to use with the public

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Content Source:
National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases; Division of Bacterial Diseases