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Causes
By Mayo Clinic staff
Whooping cough is caused by bacteria. When an infected person coughs or sneezes, tiny germ-laden droplets are sprayed into the air and breathed into the lungs of anyone who happens to be nearby.
Once inside your airways, the bacteria multiply and produce toxins that interfere with your respiratory tract's ability to sweep away germs. Thick mucus accumulates inside your airways, causing uncontrollable coughing.
The bacteria also cause inflammation that narrows breathing tubes in your lungs. This narrowing leaves you gasping for air — sucking in air with a high-pitched "whoop" — after a fit of coughing.
- Pertussis (whooping cough): What you need to know. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/Features/Pertussis/. Accessed Oct. 9, 2009.
- Hewlett EL. Whooping cough and other Bordetella infections. In: Goldman L, et al. Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/164191733-4/899761629/1492/1170.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-2805-5..50339-6_14460. Accessed Oct. 9, 2009.
- Long SS. Pertussis. In: Kliegman RM, et al. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 18th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/164191733-4/899761629/1608/548.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-2450-7..50196-1_4360. Accessed Oct. 9, 2009.
- Lipsky M. Pertussis (whooping cough). American Medical Association. http://www.medem.com/?q=medlib/article/ZZZPWVII1AC. Accessed Oct. 9, 2009.
- Yeh S, et al. Clinical features and diagnosis of Bordetella pertussis infection in infants and children. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Oct. 9, 2009.
- Yeh S. Treatment and prevention of Bordetella pertussis infection in infants and children. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Oct. 13, 2009.
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