Pertussis, or whooping cough, is a highly contagious, vaccine-preventable respiratory disease caused by Bordetella pertussis or Bordetella parapertussis. Globally there were an estimated 24.1 million cases and 160,700 deaths in children under five years with most in Africa. On 23 January 2023, sub-district officials investigated a pertussis outbreak in the Mbombela subdistrict to determine the magnitude, and cause of the outbreak and implement control measures.