Knowing the signs of whooping cough

Leah Androski reporter3.riverbendnews@gmail.com Whooping cough, also called pertussis, is a highly contagious bacterial infection of the lungs and airways. This can cause repeated coughing bouts that could last for two to three months or more. In many people, it's marked by a severe hacking cough followed by a high-pitched intake of breath that sounds like “whoop.” Whooping cough is known to make babies and young children very ill. Whooping cough is spread through the droplets of the coughs or sneezes of someone with the infection. Before the vaccine was developed, whooping cough was considered a childhood disease. Deaths associated with whooping cough are rare, but mostly occur in i