Pertussis Research Paper

Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, is a highly contagious respiratory tract infection of humans that is caused by a gram-negative bacterial pathogen Bordetella pertussis. These bacteria bind to ciliated cells that line the respiratory tract by obstructing their ciliary movement and killing the cells. B. pertussis can be transmitted from one person to another through respiratory droplets such as coughing, sneezing, or sharing a breathing space. B.pertussis host range can be found only in humans (sole reservoir) most especially, the adults and adolescents with an undiagnosed infection who may transmit the infection to infants and children through droplets transmission (http://wwwpublichealth.gc.ca). Pertussis is a re-emerging disease, that is, the incidence has recently been on the rise due to parents refusal to vaccinate their infants because of their belief that vaccines may not be safe, and also due to the waning immunity among vaccinated adults (Krause et al.,1992).
pertussis was first isolated in pure culture in 1906 by Bordet and Gengou after observing the organism microscopically in the sputum of an infected patient (Mattoo and Cherry 2005). Pertussis is a severe disease in children below 10 years of age, this caused several infantile spasms and sudden infant death syndrome which first led in the mid 1940s to the introduction of a mono-component whole-cell pertussis vaccines, but which in 1947 was replaced by a vaccine combination with diphtheria and tetanus toxoids added (DTP). The availability of DTP vaccine helped to decrease the rate of pertussis cases as at that time (Tortora et al.,2007). However, newer and safer acellular vaccines-diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTaP), and tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (Tdap) are known for their specific roles in prevention of pertussis from spreading from one person to another