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Whooping Cough
Pronunciation
Definition 1
A serious bacterial infection of the lungs and breathing tubes that spreads easily. Whooping cough begins like a cold, but develops into severe coughing and gasping for air. Long spells of coughing may cause vomiting, and broken blood vessels in the eyes and on the skin. Also called pertussis. (NCI Dictionary)
Definition 2
A contagious bacterial respiratory infection caused by Bordetella pertussis. It is characterized by severe and uncontrollable cough, resulting in a whooping sound during breathing following the cough. (NCI Thesaurus)
More information
Whooping cough is an infectious bacterial disease that causes uncontrollable coughing. The name comes from the noise you make when you take a breath after you cough. You may have choking spells or may cough so hard that you vomit.
Anyone can get whooping cough, but it is more common in infants and children. It's especially dangerous for infants. The coughing spells can be so bad that it is hard for infants to eat, drink, or breathe.
To make a diagnosis, your doctor may do a physical exam, blood tests, chest x-rays, or nose or throat cultures.
Before there was a vaccine, whooping cough was one of the most common childhood diseases and a major cause of childhood deaths in the U.S. Now most cases are prevented by vaccines. If you have whooping cough, treatment with antibiotics may help if given early. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
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