whooping cough
whooping cough (hoop-ing) n. an acute infectious disease, primarily affecting infants, due to infection of the respiratory tract by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis. It is characterized by a paroxysmal cough that is followed by a noisy convulsive drawing in of the breath (whoop) or, in the very young, by periods of apnoea. Complications include bronchopneumonia, bronchiectasis, and convulsions. Immunization, usually given in the form of the DTaP/IPV/Hib and DTaP/IPV vaccines (see Immunization schedules), offers protection; an attack usually confers lifelong immunity. Medical name: pertussis.
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whooping cough
