The whooping cough bacterium: a cold-like start that can turn into weeks of coughing fits. Explore its illustrative 3D model, human context, and sources.
B. pertussis causes whooping cough, a respiratory illness that CDC describes as beginning like a common cold before the coughing can last for weeks or months. The bacteria attach to the hair-like structures lining the airways and release toxins that damage them. Illness is often milder in people who have been vaccinated, and PHAC cites a high prevalence of asymptomatic infection among household contacts. Many babies do not cough at all and instead have life-threatening pauses in breathing. WHO notes epidemics every two to five years.
Severity varies with age and vaccination status. CDC states that whooping cough vaccines work but are not perfect, and that illness is generally milder in vaccinated people who still get it. Babies are the group at greatest risk, and older vaccinated contacts with mild or absent symptoms can be the source of their infection.
Original schematic 3D phenotype. PHAC describes a small Gram-negative organism about 0.8 by 0.4 micrometres, rod-shaped, coccoid or ovoid, occurring singly or in small groups, non-motile, non-sporulating, encapsulated and strictly aerobic; CDC describes a small aerobic Gram-negative rod. A capsule layer is therefore supported, while flagella and endospores are not. Colours, dimensions, layer thicknesses and displayed arrangements are diagram choices, not a measured individual cell. Independent scientific review remains pending.
Source check: 2026-09-19. Educational content; independent scientific review remains pending.