Mention the words "whoop-ing cough" to your grandparents, and you may hear some dramatic stories about their childhood experiences -- accounts of severe coughing spasms followed by a high-pitched whoop.

It's that distinctive sound that gives pertussis its common name of whooping cough. They say once you've heard it, you never forget it.

On the other hand, your parents' experience with this disease was probably limited to making sure that you received the vaccine for it when you were a baby, as part of your DTP (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis) immunizations. They may never have heard that unique whooping sound.

What about your experience? More than likely, you either have no idea what it is, or you may have heard that it was "going around" recently. If you did, you heard right.

Even though it is a communicable disease that has a vaccine, it still routinely makes an unwelcome appearance. In fact, there have been several cases of pertussis in Centre and Mifflin counties in the last few months. There are also reports that cases are increasing statewide and throughout the nation.

At this point there have not been any lab-diagnosed cases at University Health Services (UHS). However, that does not mean that this highly contagious disease won't pay a visit to our campus. You might want to pay attention to the following information, because if it were to appear, it could spread quickly with students living in such close quarters.

Whooping cough (or pertussis) is a contagious disease involving the lungs and airways. It is caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis that is found in the nose, mouth and throat of an infected person.

Pertussis can occur at any age, but most cases occur in children younger than 5 years old.

Despite the availability of the pertussis vaccine, each year more than 100 cases are reported in Pennsylvania and 5,000 to 7,000 cases across the United States. There has been a disproportionate increase in cases in adolescents and young adults since 1990.

There are also undiagnosed cases of pertussis, especially in adults. Older persons and people who are partially protected by the vaccine may become infected, as their immunity decreases with time. Their symptoms may be milder and indistinguishable from other respiratory infections. But they can still spread the disease to others, including younger children who have not been vaccinated.

People get pertussis by breathing in droplets from the nose and mouth of already infected persons. An infected person is most contagious at the beginning of the disease.

If untreated, an infected person can spread pertussis for up to three weeks after coughing starts. Antibiotic treatment limits contagiousness to five days after treatment is started.

Symptoms usually start five to 10 days after exposure to another person with the disease, but may take as long as 20 days to start.

Pertussis begins as a mild illness like the common cold. Sneezing, runny nose, low-grade fever and mild coughing progress to severe coughing, which may continue for many weeks despite proper treatment.

Some persons have episodes of rapid coughing followed by a high-pitched whoop as they take a deep breath. However, not everyone with pertussis has a whoop, especially very young infants.

Symptoms may be milder in older children and adults. However, pertussis can be a serious disease, especially in infants and young children. Complications can include pneumonia, dehydration, seizures, encephalopathy (a disorder of the brain) and death.

Antibiotics, such as zithromycin or erythromycin, may be useful early in the disease. Antibiotics are particularly helpful in reducing spread of the disease to other persons. However, once severe symptoms begin, antibiotics may not have any effect on symptoms.

Preventive antibiotic treatment is sometimes recommended for household and other close contacts of the person with pertussis. This may include roommates.

Recent changes in the pertussis vaccine have improved its safety while keeping a high level of protection. Babies should be routinely immunized at ages 2, 4, 6 and 15 months, and then again at 4 to 6 years. In Pennsylvania, adequate pertussis immunization is recommended for school entry.

There are also some common-sense ways to protect yourself and others:

-- Follow basic hygiene.

-- Cover your mouth when you cough.

-- Avoid close contact with people who have respiratory, nasal or oral secretions.

-- Keep your immune system primed by getting enough sleep, eating nutritiously and avoiding stress.