It has been reported that some patients have been misdiagnosed with Respiratory Syncytial Virus, when in fact the correct diagnosis in their specific case was Whooping Cough.
Whooping cough also called pertussis is an extremely contagious respiratory tract infection that commonly causes a severe hacking cough which on inhale sounds like a whooping noise. It is a disease of childhood and at the beginning the symptoms looks like that of the common cold. Later on the characteristic cough develops along with vomiting, severely red or blue face, and extreme fatigue. Deaths are rare but occur mostly in babies. It can be misdiagnosed as other viruses that cause coughs such as adenovirus, enteroviruses or mycoplasma pneumoniae. If left untreated whooping cough can cause bruised or cracked ribs, abdominal hernias, broken blood vessels in the skin and eyes, pneumonia, breathing issues, severe dehydration, seizures and brain damage.