Who is affected by whooping cough

Whooping cough is most serious in babies younger than 4 months of age. Usually, the younger the infant, the more serious the illness.

In the United States in 2007:¹

• Whooping cough occurred in about 4 people out of 100,000.
• People ages 10 to 20 had it more than any other age group.
• About 70 out of 100,000 infants younger than 6 months of age had it.

It is likely that a much higher number of people become infected with whooping cough than is reported. This may be in part because teens and adults usually have a milder form of the disease and don't see a doctor for treatment. Also, doctors may not always recognize mild symptoms as being related to whooping cough, and lab tests do not always detect the disease.

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