Real-time PCR (rt-PCR) is an important diagnostic tool for the identification of Bordetella pertussis, Bordetella holmesii, and Bordetella parapertussis. Most U.S. public health laboratories (USPHLs) target IS481, present in 218 to 238 copies in the B. pertussis genome and 32 to 65 copies in B. holmesii. The CDC developed a multitarget PCR assay to differentiate B. pertussis, B. holmesii, and B...

Bordetella pertussis and Bordetella bronchiseptica were both able to grow in iron-deficient medium when supplemented with iron-saturated human lactoferrin or transferrin but not with human apotransferrin. Direct contact between the transferrins and the Bordetella cells did not appear to be required for growth but considerably improved the growth of the organisms. Analysis of B. pertussis and B....

Whooping cough is a highly-contagious respiratory disease caused by Bordetella pertussis. Despite vaccination, its incidence has been rising alarmingly, and yet, the physiology of B. pertussis remains poorly understood. We combined genome-scale metabolic reconstruction, a novel optimization algorithm and experimental data to probe the full metabolic potential of this pathogen, using strain Toha...

Bordetella holmesii, a human pathogen, can confound the diagnosis of respiratory illness caused by Bordetella pertussis. We present the draft genome sequences of two B. holmesii isolates, one from blood, F627, and one from the nasopharynx, H558. Interestingly, important virulence genes that are present in B. pertussis are not found in B. holmesii.

Considerable advances have been made recently in our understanding of the pathogenesis and the immunological mechanisms involved in the prevention and control of infection by Bordetella pertussis. Traditionally , research on protection has focused on the role of humoral immunity and several reports have shown that passive transfer of antibodies against several putative protective antigens, incl...

Pertussis re-emerged in Sweden with a cumulative incidence of about 60% during the first 10 years of life, when the locally produced cellular vaccine lost its efficacy around 1970 and general vaccination was discontinued in 1979. The epidemiology, clinical features, and immunology of pertussis and a monocomponent pertussis toxoid vaccine were studied in Göteborg, Sweden. After phase 1 and 2 stu...

pertussis is still endemic and the recently resurgence of the disease caused by bordetella pertussis has been shown in many countries. the polymorphism of the virulence genes of b. pertussis and lack of any information about the allelic variation between the iranian isolates promotes us to analysis of the genes encoded virulence factors including ptxs1, prn, fim3 and cya to understand the diffe...

Rabbit immunoglobulin (Ig)M and IgG antibodies to Brucella abortus and Bordetella pertussis were isolated as purified products and their specific secondary biological activities were compared. IgM antibodies were found to be more active than IgG proteins in inducing agglutination and sensitization of B. abortus for the complement-dependent bactericidal effect and in inhibiting B. pertussis-indu...

Pertussis is a worldwide public health threat. Bordetella pertussis produces multiple virulence factors that have been studied individually, and many have recently been found to have additional biological activities. Nevertheless, how they interact to cause the disease pertussis remains unknown. New animal models, particularly the infection of infant baboons with B. pertussis, are enabling long...