Pertussis (whooping cough)
Pertussis precautions
- How long
- Until 5 days after starting effective antibiotic therapy
- Room
- Single room preferred; cohorting is an option
- PPE
- Facemask on room entry
- Transport
- Patient wears a mask
- Exposures
- Post-exposure prophylaxis for household contacts and staff with prolonged exposure to respiratory secretions
What CDC’s table says
Verbatim from CDC’s Appendix A, with bibliography numbers removed.
Pertussis (whooping cough)
DropletStandardDurationUntil 5 days after initiation of effective antibiotic therapy
Single patient room preferred. Cohorting an option. Postexposure chemoprophylaxis for household contacts and HCWs with prolonged exposure to respiratory secretions. Recommendations for Tdap vaccine in adults under development. Tdap Vaccine Recommendations Update: Current recommendations can be found at Tdap / Td ACIP Vaccine Recommendations.
Test yourself: a CIC-style question
A patient is diagnosed with pertussis (whooping cough). What type of Transmission-Based Precautions should be implemented?
- Contact Precautions
- Droplet Precautions
- Airborne Precautions
- Standard Precautions only
Show answer
B. Droplet Precautions
Pertussis spreads by respiratory droplets. CDC recommends Droplet + Standard Precautions until 5 days after effective antibiotic therapy starts.
Questions like this come up in the Preventing and Controlling the Transmission of Infectious Agents domain of the CIC® exam. The 654 questions in the app each come with a written explanation.
FAQ
- What precautions are needed for Pertussis?
- Droplet + Standard. Room: Single room preferred; cohorting is an option. PPE: Facemask on room entry. Transport: Patient wears a mask. Exposures: Post-exposure prophylaxis for household contacts and staff with prolonged exposure to respiratory secretions.
- How long do Pertussis precautions last?
- Until 5 days after starting effective antibiotic therapy.
Sources
- CDC. Appendix A: Type and Duration of Precautions Recommended for Selected Infections and Conditions (2007 Guideline for Isolation Precautions, updated September 2024)
- CDC. 2007 Guideline for Isolation Precautions: Summary of Recommendations
Checked against CDC on October 21, 2026. For education and CIC® exam preparation only — not a substitute for your facility’s infection prevention policies, your state or local health department, or clinical judgment. CBIC and CDC do not endorse this tool.