Pertussis

 Data Sources 

• Case counts (2016-2025), population estimates (2016-2023), & population projections (2024-2025): Public Health Ontario.
• Query: Case counts of reportable diseases by public health unit and year. Toronto, ON: Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion; extracted on March 9, 2026.

More Information about Pertussis

• Public Health Agency of Canada: English and Français
• Ministry of Health Fact Sheet:  English and Français 

If you think you have pertussis (whooping cough), contact your healthcare provider or call Telehealth at 1-866-797-0000. Call ahead before going to a healthcare provider's office or hospital, so that they can prepare and protect other patients.

Reporting

Report to the Health Unit within one business day by fax (705-482-0670) or phone at 705-474-1400 or toll free at 1-800-563-2808, ext. 5229 if pertussis (whopping cough) is suspected or confirmed as per Ontario Regulation 135/18 and amendments under the Health Protection and Promotion Act, R.S.O., c.H.7.

Should one go to childcare, school, or work if they have pertussis (whooping cough)? 

Contact the Communicable Disease Control (CDC) Program for specific directions. Stay home until you are well. Avoid contact with young children, infants, and pregnant individuals until appropriate antibiotics have been taken for five full days. If no treatment is given, avoid contact with these individuals for three full weeks from the start of a cough.  Exclusion may also be required from work, school, childcare, or recreational/summer camp. 

Note: Exclusion guidelines may differ for healthcare workers, those who work with vulnerable populations, childcare attendees or workers, and those who have direct contact with infants less than 1 year of age and pregnant individuals in their their trimester. Follow the direction of your healthcare provider, public health case manager, and/or occupational health at your workplace.

Vaccine Information 

Pertussis (whooping cough) is preventable by vaccination. Check your vaccination records or call the Vaccine Preventable Diseases program at 705-474-1400 or toll free at 1-800-563-2808, ext. 5252 to book a vaccination appointment or if you have any vaccine-related questions.

Family members and caregivers of infants and young children should get vaccinated if they are not up to date with their pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine. The vaccine is only available as part of a vaccine that also has tetanus and diphtheria vaccine in it; it may also contain polio vaccine depending on the vaccine required. Everyone should receive 5 needles in childhood, 1 needle in their teens and 1 needle in adulthood. The pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine is given at:

• Two, four, six and 18 months of age
• Four to six years of age
• 14 to 16 years of age
• One dose in adulthood
• in each pregnancy, ideally between 27 to 32 weeks of gestation

See the Adacel® Information webpage.

Healthcare Provider Information