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Keeping Cough Keeping Cough is a pertussis infection caused by holding in a productive cough owing to the fear of being perceived as having some form of coronavirus.—Alexis Wilkinson, New Yorker, 2 Mar. 2026 The danger with pertussis is the cough that can linger for weeks to months and difficulty breathing.—Nicole Villalpando, Austin American Statesman, 25 Feb. 2026 The state health department issued a health alert because of the high number of pertussis cases, the second year in a row the department has done so.—Ciara McCarthy, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 20 Feb. 2026 Legislative action is required to repeal the vaccine mandates for polio, diphtheria (a bacterial infection), rubeola (measles), rubella (a viral infection, also called German measles), pertussis (whooping cough), mumps and tetanus.—Doris Alvarez Cea, Florida Times-Union, 4 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for pertussis
Word History
Etymology
New Latin, from Latin per- thoroughly + tussis cough