Whooping cough is one of the most infectious diseases in the world

Whooping cough is more contagious than influenza, measles or COVID-191 and, once infected, a person can remain contagious for three weeks or until they receive a course of antibiotics.

Symptoms of whopping cough don’t appear immediately (often for a week or more following infections), so an infected person may unwittingly spread whooping cough to up to 17 unvaccinated people.