Whooping cough is caused by a bacteria called Bordetella pertussis, which lives only in human throats. Vaccines only last 5-10 years but for adults the bug only produces a very bad cough at maximum. In small children the cough can make them lose most of their oxygen and they usually have to take a quick deep breath or "whoop".
This organism tends to strike mostly in smaller infants and is not very
dangerous to adults. Children, however should have a vaccine near the time
of birth (2-4 months).