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

Battle of the Alamo from "Texas: An Epitome of Texas History from the Filibustering and Revolutionary Eras to the Independence of the Republic, 1897. Texas Revolution, Texas revolt, Texas independence, Texas history.

6 Wars of Independence

Groups of depositors in front of the closed American Union Bank, New York City. April 26, 1932. Great Depression run on bank crowd

Causes of the Great Depression

Lusitania sinking, illustration from The War of the Nations (New York), December 31, 1919. World War I, WWI. This image is one of three on the page. (See source file for the other two.)

7 of the World’s Deadliest Shipwrecks

New Zealand. Political/Physical map. Includes locator.

Where Is “Old Zealand”?

Close up of books. Stack of books, pile of books, literature, reading. Homepage 2010, arts and entertainment, history and society

12 Novels Considered the “Greatest Book Ever Written”

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

Will Light-Speed Space Travel Ever Be Possible?

Entrants falling and tumbling over while chasing the cheese at the 2016 'Cheese Rolling' held at Cooper's Hill, in the Cotswolds, Brockworth England

7 of the World’s Most Dangerous Festivals

whooping cough: Facts & Related Content

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Facts

Also Known As	pertussis

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Bordetella pertussis

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notifiable disease pertussis vaccine Bordetella pertussis DPT childhood disease and disorder bacterial disease 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

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

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

A Visit with the Word Doctor: Medical Vocabulary Quiz