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Bordetella Pertussis Research Paper

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Introduction: In the family of Betaproteobacteria is the bacteria Bordetella pertussis; it is a gram -, rod-shaped, non-motile bacterium. The bacterium is encapsulated and does not produce spores. Since Bordetella pertussis is non-motile they only can travel through water droplets usually if they are within five feet of the infected person. Bordetella pertussis cannot live outside of a human host for very long. The incubation period for Bordetella pertussis bacteria is typically four to twenty one days but can range from one to forty-five days. The bacteria are typically inhaled which is how it will enter the host. It then will produce adhesions making it able to stick to the cilia in the lungs and trachea. Bordetella pertussis then releases cytotoxins that damage or paralyze the cilia and cells in the lungs, which produces mucous and then prevents the body from coughing up the mucous.
History:

Bordetella pertussis is a bacterium that is the cause of the disease pertussis or “whooping cough.” Pertussis first appeared in the country of France around the year 1414. Two men, Jules Bordet and Octave Gengou, whom both were bacteriologists, first discovered the bacterium Bordetella pertussis in the year 1900 in Paris, France. They discovered the agent to whooping cough by obtaining liquid from a five-month-old child; however, they were not able to isolate the bacteria …show more content…

Pertussis is transmitted through water droplets of an infected person coughing, sneezing, or laughing. Because of the amount and harshness of the cough, there may be thousands of droplets released at one time. People who are in close proximity to an infected person can then become infected by direct contact. Most infants acquire pertussis by secondary transmission by family members because it is often difficult to diagnose pertussis in an adult; it is normally thought to just be a cold in adults.
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