WHOOPING COUGH Definition & Meaning

whooping cough

[ hoo-ping, hoop-ing ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

Pathology.

an infectious disease of the respiratory mucous membrane, caused by Bordetella pertussis, characterized by a series of short, convulsive coughs followed by a deep inspiration accompanied by a whooping sound.

whooping cough

/ ˈ��ː��ɪŋ /

noun

an acute infectious disease characterized by coughing spasms that end with a shrill crowing sound on inspiration: caused by infection with the bacillus Bordetella pertussis Technical namepertussis

whooping cough

/ ��̅��̅′��ĭ�Բ�,��p′ĭ�Բ�,�ɴ�̅��̅′��ĭ�Բ�,��p′ĭ�Բ� /

An infectious disease caused by the bacterium Bordatella pertussis, seen most commonly in children and characterized by coughing spasms often ending in loud gasps. Vaccinations usually given during infancy confer immunity to the disease.
Also called pertussis

whooping cough

An acute and infectious disease occurring mainly in children and characterized by violent coughing. Caused by a kind of bacteria , whooping cough has largely been eradicated in the United States through a program of vaccination , which is begun when infants are just three months old.

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of whooping cough¹

First recorded in 1730–40

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Then in the 1970s the diphtheria, tetanus, and whooping cough jab was linked to brain injury in children, before later being found safe.

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Infants and young children are particularly sensitive to whooping cough.

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And other infectious threats, be they whooping cough, measles or the latest strain of bird flu, continue to loom.

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Across California, there were fewer than 300 reported cases of whooping cough, also known as pertussis, all of last year.

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As whooping cough cases rise in the U.S., a new nasal vaccine developed by Tulane University may hold the key to reducing the spread of the highly contagious respiratory disease.

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