Should I see a doctor (whooping cough)?

I moved in to a new place in late Feb 2012, and subsequently found out that two people living here were diagnosed with whooping cough in late Dec 2011 and claim to have had symptoms until mid Feb 2012.

About 10–15 days ago I felt like I was on the verge of being sick. This past weekend, I woke up with a sore throat and had mild cold symptoms throughout the day, but went to sleep and the next day felt much better. I thought that was the end of it, but maybe since Monday I’ve had a sore throat again. Tuesday I started coughing and this has continued.

Symptoms have included: A general feeling of malaise or tiredness / lack of energy over the last 10–15 days, sore and dry throat, mild congestion that has gotten a little worse in the last couple of days, potentially mild fever last weekend, and most recently, coughing (both dry and slightly phlegmy), possibly very mild chest discomfort (like congestion).

Usually when I get a cold, I get a really runny nose, watery eyes, fever, sore throat, followed by coughing, and it runs its course in a matter of 2–5 days.

However, since I moved here in Feb, someone has been sick continuously albeit not necessarily the same person. At least four rounds of colds or similar have run through here. This place is poorly ventilated so it does not surprise me. On top of this, I don’t think I have gotten a single good night’s sleep due to noise that continues from about 6.30 am until 2 am.

Therefore, I am not sure if this is just a regular cold that my body has been trying to fight off for some time but is struggling to due to the other living conditions, or if this may actually be whooping cough as the symptoms are similar.

I have been vaccinated against pertussis as a child, but the internet says efficacy can wear off over a ten year period and local news has reported an increase in whooping cough incidences possibly due to a new more virulent strain of pertussis developing. My understanding is that people are only contagious in the first 3 weeks of contracting the disease, so I don’t see how it is possible that I would get it unless it was subsequently passed to someone else in this household and then to me. While others have been sick here, there haven’t been any incidences of vomiting or whooping.

I am not coughing that much at the moment. I am wondering if it is worth paying to get tested, and if testing positive if it is worth taking an antibiotics course at this point or if that would likely be ineffective? I do not like taking antibiotics unless absolutely necessary.

Please don’t just reply “see a doctor”. I am asking people who have knowledge of this particular disease to specifically consider the timeline and circumstances of this case and make a recommendation based on that.