A devastating respiratory infection once thought to be primarily a childhood concern is making an alarming comeback among adults, catching the medical community and patients completely off guard.

Whooping cough, medically known as pertussis, is a highly contagious bacterial infection that affects the airways.

Whoopingcough might sound like a disease from another era. But the illness, also called pertussis, is alive and well in the U.S. Known as a childhood illness, whooping cough is actually most common in ...

Whooping cough cases this year in the U.S. could hit numbers not seen since 1959, federal health officials warn. “We may be on track for record high cases this year,” said Dr. Anne Schuchat, director ...

Whooping cough, a bacterial infection that can be especially dangerous for babies and young children, is on the rise. Already in 2025 the U.S. has recorded 8,485 cases. That's compared with 4,266 ...

Two new laboratory-confirmed cases of the highly contagious Bordetella pertussis or whooping cough were detected this week, ...