Understanding pertussis, or whooping cough

By ACA | February 2, 2024

Some areas of the U.S. –and abroad – are seeing an uptick in whooping cough (pertussis) cases – including in parts of Wisconsin.

Whooping cough is an infectious respiratory illness caused by Bordetella pertussis bacteria. It spreads through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes.

“This is an infection that causes quite a significant cough,” says Dr. Nipunie Rajapakse, a pediatric infectious diseases expert with the Mayo Clinic Children’s Center. “It can start like a cold with some runny nose, which then turns into a cough.”
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