Pertussis, also known as whooping cough and the 100 day cough, is caused by a bacterial infection. The usual pathogen is Bordetella pertussis, but can also be Bordetella parapertussis. Vaccinations worldwide have overall decreased mortality – prior to vaccination, pertussis was the leading cause of death from communicable disease among US children

Classically, children with pertussis present with coryzal symptoms for about a week, known as the catarrhal phase, followed by a dry, intermittent cough that develops into coughing fits that are the hallmark of the disease. Not every child develops the characteristic "whoop" noise with coughing fits, and therefore it is important to remember pertussis as a differential.

One of the major parts of management is deciding who needs antibiotics, and which close contacts need prophylactic antibiotics.

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(This isn't individual medical advice, please use your own clinical judgement and local guidelines when caring for your patients)