Whooping cough

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Whooping cough

ORPHA:1489Disease

Also called Pertussis

What it is

A rare bacterial infectious disease characterized by severe coughing paroxysms with inspiratory whooping and posttussive vomiting, caused by infection with Bordetella pertussis. After a variable incubation time, the clinical course progresses through a catarrhal stage with sore throat, nasal congestion, rhinorrhea, and mild progressive dry cough, a paroxysmal stage with the typical paroxysmal coughing, and finally convalescence. Disease duration is usually 2-3 months, often with milder presentation in adolescents and adults than in infants and children.

Key facts

Prevalence
1-9 / 100 000 (annual incidence, Europe)
Age of onset
All ages
Classified as
Disease

Prevalence figures describe populations, not individuals, and are often estimates from a single study. Where the figure is an incidence or a birth prevalence, it says so.

ICD-10 codes

A37.0ICD-10 uses a narrower term
A37.1ICD-10 uses a narrower term
A37.8ICD-10 uses a narrower term
A37.9ICD-10 uses a narrower term

Related health topics

Reached through the ICD-10 categories this disease is filed under, so these describe the broader group rather than this disease specifically.

Cross-references

GARD 8692MEDDRA 10047974MESH D014917MONDO 0005077UMLS C0043167

Orphadata Science: Free access data from Orphanet. © INSERM 1999. Data version 2026-06-23. Available under CC BY 4.0. This is a reference, not medical advice.

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