Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Pertussis, known also as whooping cough, is a contagious bacterial disease, caused by the bacteria Bordetella pertussis, and is characterized by uncontrollable and violent coughing, inspiratory whoop, slight fever, spreading easily from person to person through air while coughing, talking or sneezing. Due to increasing cases of pertussis outbreaks within schools, nursing homes and college campuses, a US federal advisory panel proposed all U.S. adults to get vaccinated against whooping cough, in order to prevent teens and adults from spreading the disease to infants. Learn more about pertussis, its history, symptoms and preventive measures in this book.