Whooping, or prtussis cough is a bacterial disease (bordetella pertussis) with an [incubation period] of one to two weeks.  The name "whooping cough" comes from the "whooping" noise of the victim's coughing.  Whooping cough has three stages:

 Catarrhal stage- This stage lasts one to two weeks. Victims have trouble breathing, coughing attacks, and a fever.  The victims are highly contagious through spray in the air from sneezing or coughing.

 Paroxysmal stage-  This stage lasts two to three weeks and is the most serious stage. The victims have coughing attacks which result in thick globs of mucus being coughed up.  Infants can have difficulty coughing up the mucus, and instead may swallow it, causing vomiting and dehydration.  Coughing attacks can cause inadequate oxygen and convulsions.  Sometimes it can result in pneumonia and collapsed lungs. 

  Convalescent stage-  This stage takes weeks or months and consists of slow improvement.
 

   -Pertussis infects 90 percent of all people exposed to it.

   -Young children and infants are the most vulnerable to pertussis.