Bordetella Pertussis Case Study

Bordetella pertussis also commonly known as whooping cough is a very contagious respiratory infection. This infection is caused by a gram negative coccobacillus. This organism damages ciliated epithelium in the nasopharynx and bronchioles. The toxin produced by Bordetella pertussis paralyses the cilia, causes tissue inflammation, and leads to impaired mucus clearance. In serious cases lymphocytosis occurs due to the inhibition of phagocytic functions, leading to a formation of a mucus exudate. The small airways can be compromised due to this exudate and it predisposes patients to cyanosis and pneumonia (Bentley, May 2013). The Bordetella pertussis infection is divided in three stages according to its clinical course. The first stage last approximately
Droplets containing the B. pertussis bacteria from coughing and sneezing are the main source of infection in young children and infants. The main infection transmission source are their asymptomatic parents or siblings. (Rittle, 2010) Adolescents and adults, with whom immunity diminishes, leads to an increased number of these individuals contracting the whooping cough. The most vulnerable groups are infants and newborns who lack the vaccination or full immunity. Especially at risk for symptoms of infection are children under 1 year of age. (Loeffelholz,
This function emits a fluorescent signal which is detected by an optical unit included in the real-time PCR instrument. The bigger the amount of amplicons formed, the stronger the fluorescence signal will increased. This instrument run internal controls at the same time. The analysis is verified by a software included with the instrument. Reports of positive, negative and patient on the report generated by instrument. The RIDA®GENE Bordetella real-time PCR has a detection limit of ≥ 5 DNA copies per reaction for the three species tested. The detection limit depends on the sample DNA extraction and DNA-concentration (R-Biopharm AG, 2013). The RIDA®GENE Bordetella real-time PCR and FilmArray® are only two examples of a numerous instruments used for respiratory infections. The results can be given in about an hour which highly exceeds the expectative to diagnose a relevant infection such as Bordetella pertussis. It is also significant for doctors to recur on their knowledge for patient’s symptoms, medical history, or background to make a complete diagnosis. The molecular testing is also used in a diverse fields, such as oncology or genetics. There is still a lot of research being done in every molecular diagnostic to keep improving each