Where did pertussis come from

Whooping cough: Pertussis is a highly contagious respiratory disease caused by a bacteria called bordetella pertussis. It causes heavy, uncontrollable coughing that sound like barking. It is on the rise, therefore immunization against it is now recommended. Most of us have been immunized against it during our early years of life through the tdap tetanus vaccine and now booster is recommended for unimmunized.

Current outbreaks : Come from 2 sources: 1) peers whose parents choose not to immunize them, despite scientific evidence about vaccine safety 2) infants usually get it from their parents who haven't had their "booster shots." the 1st 2 (most contagious) wks look like a cold then 1-6 wks of paroxysms of rapid coughs followed by a "whoop" on attempt to breathe in, then 2-3 more weeks of cough.