Whooping Cough

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Medical Author:

John P. Cunha, DO, FACOEP

John P. Cunha, DO, FACOEP

John P. Cunha, DO, is a U.S. board-certified Emergency Medicine Physician. Dr. Cunha's educational background includes a BS in Biology from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, and a DO from the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences in Kansas City, MO. He completed residency training in Emergency Medicine at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center in Newark, New Jersey.

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Medical Editor:

David Perlstein, MD, MBA, FAAP

David Perlstein, MD, MBA, FAAP

Dr. Perlstein received his Medical Degree from the University of Cincinnati and then completed his internship and residency in pediatrics at The New York Hospital, Cornell medical Center in New York City. After serving an additional year as Chief Pediatric Resident, he worked as a private practitioner and then was appointed Director of Ambulatory Pediatrics at St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx.

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Medical Editor:

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

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• Whooping Cough Overview
• Whooping Cough Causes
• Whooping Cough Symptoms and Signs
• When to Seek Medical Care
• Whooping Cough Diagnosis
• Whooping Cough Treatment
• Self-Care at Home
• Medical Treatment
• Follow-up
• Whooping Cough Prevention
• Whooping Cough Prognosis
• Synonyms and Keywords
• Authors and Editors
• Read more on Whooping Cough from Healthwise
• Viewer Comments: Whooping Cough (Pertussis) - Describe Your Experience
• Viewer Comments: Whooping Cough - Treatment

Whooping Cough Overview

Whooping cough is an infectious bacterial illness that affects the respiratory passages. First described in the 1640s, whooping cough is so named because spasms of coughing are punctuated by a characteristic "whoop" sound when the person inhales after a coughing spell.

• Whooping cough is the most common vaccine-preventable disease among children younger than 5 years of age in the United States. It is also known as pertussis -- the "P" in the familiar DTaP combination inoculation routinely given to children and the "p" in Tdap given to adolescents and adults.



• Despite the widespread use of vaccines, whooping cough has made a comeback in recent years. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), prior to the introduction of the pertussis vaccine, there were an average of 175,000 cases of whooping cough each year. This dropped off to fewer than 3,000 cases per year in the 1980s; however, in the U.S. alone, a total of 17,000 cases of pertussis were reported in 2009.



• The World Health Organization estimates there were 195,000 deaths from whooping cough worldwide in 2008, making this easy-to-prevent disease one of the leading causes of illness and death. However, the CDC estimates 300,000 deaths per year are caused by pertussis.



• In June 2010, the State of California declared a whooping cough epidemic. In September 2010, the California Department of Health reported 4,017 cases of confirmed, suspected, and probable whopping cough, the largest number of cases since 1955.