Sophomore Michael Peterson just thought he had a bad cold.

“I had a cough for a few weeks. Then, a few days before I went to see the doctor, it got a lot worse,” he said. His doctor diagnosed him with whooping cough.

Whooping cough, otherwise known as pertussis, used to be a major problem in the United States, causing 5,000 to 10,000 deaths a year.

Since the widespread use of the vaccine in the late 1950s though, the number of deaths has gone down to less than 100 a year.

Whooping cough infects the respiratory system, clogging airways and triggering sometimes severe coughing spells. The infection is caused by the bacteria B. parapertussis, also known as Bordetella pertussis.

“It was a new thing for me,” said Peterson. “I’d never heard of it before.”

Other people fall into this same category of oblivion, not knowing the symptoms or how it is even spreads.

The first signs of whooping cough can be a runny nose, mild cough, low fever, and sneezung.

The cough turns severe over the course of about one to two weeks.

Those with the infection usually let out a “whoop” sound after a coughing spell, which occurs more often as the infection worsens.

Some spells may turn a young child’s face red or violet and be followed by nausea.

For those who come into contact with this infection, medical attention is necessary.

“The doctor gave me an antibiotic,” said Peterson. “He gave my family some too, because they were all around me while I had it.”

The antibiotic does not clear up the infection immediately, nor does it decrease the amount of time for incubation, at least, it didn’t in Peterson’s case.

“I felt fine right away [after taking the antibiotic]. But I still had to stay home because I was still contagious,” said Peterson.

Because whooping cough is an airborne infection (passed through coughing, sneezing and even laughing), it is hard to control.

“As soon as my results came back from the doctor, and they found out I had it,” said Peterson, “my mom came and got me out of school as soon as she could.”

Though many have received the necessary vaccines against this infection, it is still good to be on the safe side and check in with a doctor if these symptoms do occur.

The other is to ensure vaccinations are up-to-date and check with a doctor to determine if there is a need to be vaccinated against the disease.