With the island confirming its third case of whooping cough this year – that of an unvaccinated infant. Health officials are urging the public to stay informed about the illness and how to protect against it. Here’s what you need to know.

It's called "The Cough of 100 Days" - pertussis, better known as whooping cough. Dr. Bob Leon Guerrero, Guam Department of Public Health medical officer, told KUAM News the exprience is, “Coughing, coughing, coughing, coughing, then GO, 'whoop' to catch their breath, and then they go again and cough.”

Caused by the bordetella pertussis bacteria, this highly contagious respiratory illness triggers violent, rapid, and uncontrollable coughing fits. These can lead to vomiting during or after fits or even breaking ribs. The bacteria spread easily through the air, and symptoms vary based on age and vaccination status.

Dr. Leon Guerrero warns that pertussis can lead to serious complications, especially for infants. “For kids, especially under the age of 2 months, they can’t really mount a coughing fit like that–so what happens is the phlegm gets stuck, they turn blue because they can’t breathe around the phlegm, and they stop breathing for a while," he said.

In the meantime, Leon Guerrero says pertussis cases are rising worldwide. In the US alone, over 8,000 cases have been reported this year, according to preliminary data from the CDC. On the island, three cases have been confirmed - all in unvaccinated individuals, with the most recent being a 9-month-old child.

But Dr. Bobb emphasized that pertussis is preventable through vaccination, explaining, “Normally, what we recommend is two months, four months, 6 months, 15 months, and then right before they go to kindergarten, and then every ten years after that. They also recommend that, for the protection of the newborns, the mom gets the tetanus booster in the third trimester so that she might be able to produce antibodies that will protect her children, and if she breastfeeds, continue to protect.”

While he adds that vaccinated individuals can still contract pertussis, symptoms are typically milder and shorter. The physician also reminds us not to forget the basic health habits we learned during the pandemic.

“The usual stuff that we said about COVID and people again, are tired of hearing this, and I think that’s why we’re seeing an upswing of a lot of these vaccine-preventable diseases," he said. "People are tired of our messages.”