whooping cough

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Bordetella pertussis

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Marina Spelzini, a registered nurse, measures out an H1N1 vaccine shot at the Miami Dade County Health Department downtown clinic on November 3, 2009 in Miami, Florida. (influenza, swine flu)

When Was the Last Pandemic?

People wearing surgical masks (also called face mask or medical masks or safety masks) walk through the city center of Milan, Italy on Feb. 23, 2020. Coronavirus disease COVID-19 pandemic

How Do Face Masks Control the Spread of Disease?

Infographic on the Influenza Pandemic of 1918-19

Influenza Pandemic of 1918–19 Chart

Scanning electron micrograph showing the spiral-shaped bacteria of the genus Leptospira. These organisms cause leptospirosis.

8 Zoonotic Diseases

close up of 3d microscopic blue bacteria

What Was Life Like Before We Knew About Germs?

Discover

July, 2006, Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery STS-121. See attached for full caption information.

Will Light-Speed Space Travel Ever Be Possible?

All Saints Day. All Souls Day. Candles in cemetery in Poland on All Saints Day, November 1. All Souls Day, November 2. Christian church, All Hallows, Solemnity of All Saints, Feast of All Saints, purgatory, Roman Catholic church

7 Unique Burial Rituals Across the World

Agnes with a lamb near her feet. St. Agnes (Saint Agnes) design drawing for stained glass window by J&R Lamb Studios, ink, mount size 10.5 x 14.5 in.

Roman Catholic Saints

Artist interpretation of a Space meteoroid impact. Meteor impact. Asteroid, End of the world, danger, destruction, dinosaur extinct, Judgement Day, Planet Earth, Doomsday Predictions, comet

10 Failed Doomsday Predictions

Ice Sledge Hockey, Hockey Canada Cup, USA (left) vs Canada, 2009. UBC Thunderbird Arena, Vancouver, BC, competition site for Olympic ice hockey and Paralympic ice sledge hockey. Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, Vancouver Olympics

10 Best Hockey Players of All Time

Figure 13: A Maxim machine gun, belt-fed and water-cooled, operated by German infantrymen, World War I.

7 Deadliest Weapons in History

Flags of the countries of the world (flagpoles).

How Many Countries Are There in the World?

whooping cough: Facts & Related Content

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News •

Whooping cough cases are rising again in the US • Apr. 24, 2025, 5:34 PM ET (AP)

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Also Known As	pertussis

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Bordetella pertussis

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Topics

bacterial disease notifiable disease DPT pertussis vaccine Bordetella pertussis childhood disease and disorder cholera leprosy polio tuberculosis plague syphilis measles anthrax scarlet fever diphtheria

Key People

Baillou, detail of an oil painting by an unknown artist, c. 1580

Guillaume de Baillou

French physician

Quiz

Hand washing. Healthcare worker washing hands in hospital sink under running water. contagious diseases wash hands, handwashing hygiene, virus, human health

Medical Conditions and Discoveries Quiz

A Yorkshire terrier dressed up as a veterinarian or doctor on a white background. (dogs)

A Visit with the Word Doctor: Medical Vocabulary Quiz

44 Questions from Britannica’s Most Popular Health and Medicine Quizzes