A former major respiratory infection with significant morbidity and mortality, controlled mainly by vaccination program.
Causes whooping cough, or pertussis.
Small coccobacillary, gram negative rod.
Associated with an estimated 400,000 deaths annually, worldwide.
Has fastidious nutritional requirements and is highly sensitive to drying.
Specialized media utilized Bordet-Gengou or Regan-Lowe agars.
Only 50% of cases associated with positive cultures.
Highly infectious via nasopharyngeal/respiratory route.
Infants are at highest risk of severe infections.
Contagious, vaccine preventable infection caused by Bordetella pertussis.
Complications include pneumonia, cardiovascular compromise, seizures, encephalopathy can occur and this especially true for infants below the age of 1 year.
Deaths most common among infants.
Number of cases increasing in recent years.
16,858 cases were reported in 2009 with 12 infant deaths.
Case fatality 1.8% for newborns and infants less than 2 months of age.
Infants acquire infection from adults undiagnosed disease.
Tdap ( tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid and acellular pertussis) vaccine improves immunity against pertussis but presently coverage of this vaccine is 56% among adolescents and less than 6% among adults.
Presently recommended that Tdap be given as a single dose for persons ages 11 through 18 who have completed the recommended childhood diphtheria and tetanus toxoid and pertussis/diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and acellular pertussis vaccination series and for adults ages 19 to 64 years.
Infects only untraditionally seen in children, but now seen in older individuals as decreased effect of vaccination occurs.
Has filamentous hemagglutinin and pertactin proteins that mediate adhesion of the bacteria to ciliated respiratory epithelium.
Often asymptomatic in adolescents and adults, or causes mild to moderate cough.