Whooping cough initially looks a lot like a cold, but it's actually caused by bacteria. People experience the typical sore throat, cough, and mild fever, but around the time most cold symptoms would start to go away, whooping cough gets progressively worse. Violent coughing fits can last for months and be severe enough to cause vomiting and exhaustion. Recovery is slow.
Anyone can get whooping cough, but vaccinated adults tend to have milder symptoms while unvaccinated children and babies are at the highest risk of serious illness.

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