Check out this answer from Consensus:

Whooping cough is a highly contagious disease that poses a significant risk, especially to infants and young children. Despite the availability of vaccines, the disease continues to reemerge, necessitating ongoing public health efforts to control its spread. Early diagnosis, appropriate treatment, and vaccination remain critical components in the fight against whooping cough.

Whooping cough, also known as pertussis, is a highly contagious respiratory infection caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis. This disease can affect individuals of all ages, but it poses a significant risk to infants and young children. Despite the availability of vaccines, whooping cough remains a public health concern due to its potential for severe complications and its ability to spread rapidly within communities.

Transmission

Whooping cough is primarily transmitted through respiratory droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes. The bacterium Bordetella pertussis can be easily spread from person to person, making it highly contagious. Sources of infection for infants are often their parents and siblings, while older children and adolescents typically contract the disease in school settings. Adults usually acquire the infection from children or colleagues2.

Symptoms

The symptoms of whooping cough can vary depending on the age and vaccination status of the individual. The classic symptoms include bouts of violent coughing followed by a characteristic "whoop" sound and post-tussive vomiting. In vaccinated individuals, reinfected patients, and those over the age of 15, the clinical presentation may be milder2. For infants, the disease can be life-threatening, with complications such as pneumonia, seizures, and brain damage due to prolonged lack of oxygen1.

Complications

While infants are at the highest risk for severe disease and complications, adolescents and adults can also experience significant health issues. Complications in these age groups can include urinary incontinence, rib fractures, and pneumonia2. Most hospitalizations and deaths occur in babies less than six months of age, highlighting the critical need for early diagnosis and treatment1.

Diagnosis and Treatment

The diagnosis of whooping cough is typically made through culture or PCR testing of nasopharyngeal secretions, as well as by detecting antibodies to B. pertussis in serum2. If treatment is indicated, macrolides are the drugs of choice. These antibiotics can shorten the duration of symptoms and the period of contagiousness if administered in the early stages of the disease2.

Vaccination and Prevention

The introduction of the whooping cough vaccine in 1965 led to a dramatic decrease in the incidence of the disease. However, in recent decades, there has been a resurgence of whooping cough cases despite high vaccine coverage3. To combat this, some countries have introduced additional vaccination strategies, such as booster doses for children and vaccination programs for pregnant women3. In Norway, for example, an extra vaccine booster dose is given to children at the age of seven to help reduce the incidence of whooping cough2.

Is whooping cough contagious?

Peggy A Cotter has answered Near Certain An expert from University of North Carolina in Microbiology, Infectious diseases Whooping cough (aka pertussis), caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis, is one of the most infectious infectious diseases known. Transmission between members of the same household (so-called 'attack rates') approach 100% among those who are not immune due to prior infection or vaccination.

Is whooping cough contagious?

William Hausdorff has answered Near Certain An expert from PATH in Vaccines, Epidemiology, Infectious diseases Absolutely. Whooping cough, also known as pertussis, is an infectious disease caused by a bacterium called Bordetella pertussis. It is transmitted from people to people. Infants receive 2 or 3 doses of the DTaP vaccine starting at 6 weeks or 2 months of age (depending on the country), and this is highly protective against the disease (the "P" stands for pertussis). However, newborns and other children younger than that age are unprotected, and can be infected by much older children, adolescents, or adults whose DTaP vaccine (in infancy and subsequent booster) protection has waned over time. Because whooping cough is extremely dangerous for very young babies (in adolescents and adults it can be a prolonged cough but not usually life-threatening), a version of the DTP vaccine for adults (TdaP) is recommended in many countries to protect the more vulnerable. The US, UK, Canada, Australia and many other countries have programs to routinely immunize pregnant women (so they will pass protective antibodies on to their fetus in utero). At present, there are no pertussis vaccines that can be given directly to neonatal (newborn) babies. In case you are not convinced of the seriousness of whooping cough in very young children, you can find on you tube absolutely horrible videos of the uncontrollable coughing fits that are caused by pertussis. The World Health Organization estimates that about 160,000 children die worldwide each year from pertussis--4000 of which are in the US.