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Whooping cough, conceptual illustration. Whooping cough is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by Bordetella pertussis bacteria. The main symptoms are paroxysms of cough and inspiratory whoop. B. pertussis are gram-negative, aerobic, non-motile, coccobacillus bacteria. They are spread by coughing and by nasal drops. The incubation period is 7-14 days. B. pertussis bacteria initially locate in nasopharynx where they multiply and produce number of toxins including tracheal cytotoxin (TCT). TCT causes extensive damage to ciliated epithelial cells of trachea and contributes to the cough characteristic of pertussis. Treatment is with antibiotics. A vaccine is available for this bacterial pathogen. Pertussis vaccine is part of the DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, acellular pertussis) immunization.