What is whooping cough?

Answer 1

Whooping cough - or pertussis - is an infection of the respiratory system caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis (or B. pertussis). It's characterized by severe coughing spells that end in a "whooping" sound when the person breathes in. Before a vaccine was available, pertussis killed 5,000 to 10,000 people in the United States each year. Now, the pertussis vaccine has reduced the annual number of deaths to less than 30.

But in recent years, the number of cases has started to rise. By 2004, the number of whooping cough cases spiked past 25,000, the highest level it's been since the 1950s. It's mainly affected infants who are younger than 6 months old before they are adequately protected by their immunizations, and kids who are 11 to 18 years old whose immunity has faded.

Although whooping cough can occur at any age, it's most severe in unimmunized children and in infants under 1 year of age (early immunization can usually prevent this serious disease in babies). But more cases have been reported in teens and adults, because their immunity has faded since their original vaccination. That's why the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recently recommended that kids who are 11-18 years old get a booster shot that includes a pertussis vaccine, preferably when they are 11 to 12 years old.

Signs and Symptoms

Answer 2

Also known as Pertussis - whooping cough is initially characterized by mild respiratory infection symptoms such as cough, sneezing, and runny nose. It is a highly contagious disease. After one to two weeks, the cough changes character, with paroxysms of coughing followed by an inspiratory "whooping " sound. Coughing fits may be followed by vomiting due to the sheer violence of the fit. In severe cases, the vomiting induced by coughing can lead to malnutrition. Coughing fits gradually diminish over one to two months. Other complications of this disease include pneumonia, encephalitis, pulmonary hypertension, and secondary bacterial superinfection.

Worldwide, there are 30-50 million pertussis cases and about 300,000 deaths per year (most of these deaths occur in young infants who are either unvaccinated, or incompletely vaccinated).

Answer 3

Coughing with a whoop. It's horrible and frightening.

Answer 4

its a very bad cough normally found in young children and it actually sounds when they are coughing like "whoop"

Answer 5

when people cough and when they breathe in they make a whooping sound. its pretty dangerous for very small children (babies less than 6 months)

Answer 6

It's a cough after mom or dad spank you hard.

Answer 7

where you cant stop coughing.