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Bordetella Pertussis Research Paper

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Bordet and Gengou discovered Bordetella pertussis in 1906 when the first isolation was made in a pure culture. The bacterium is described to be small, coccobacillus, rod-shaped and gram-negative that triggers the body’s immune system. The bacterium is classified in the domain of prokaryotes and has currently eight different species in the Bordetella genus. Three similar species in this genus are pathogenic to humans and cause the “whooping cough” disease. There are about 343 various strains of Bordetella pertussis bacteria around the world that has been collected over the last 100 years. The most efficient way to control the bacterium is monitoring the organism with vaccinations. Bordetella pertussis belongs to the Bordetella genus and has …show more content…

It does not invade cells of the respiratory tract nor does it spread to deeper tissues. Instead, it colonizes and multiplies on the mucus of the membrane of the respiratory tract. It is powerful enough to immobilize the cilia and can cause destruction of the cilia. The destruction of the cilia results in the build up of matter in the lower airways and causes coughing and inflammation. Being that humans are the only reservoirs of this bacterium, Bordetella pertussis causes the “whooping cough”, which is an acute respiratory infection of severe coughing episodes. The contagious disease, pertussis, is primarily a toxin-mediated disease, in which it produces toxins that paralyze the cilia and inflame the respiratory tract. The whooping cough develops within 5 to 10 days and begins with cold like symptoms. It is mostly dangerous in babies, due to the fact that it they do not show symptoms of coughing, instead they stop breathing. To diagnosis the disease, a culture is conducted from nasal mucous or a polymerase chain reaction test is done. A quicker method to find Bordetella Pertussis is using monoclonal antibodies against the bacterium’s virulence factors. The antibodies that are added onto the disk and peroxidase substrate solution is added, the bacterium is then identified used a direct fluorescent antibody assay. Pertussis causes rapid coughing, until the air is done from the lungs and the body is forced to …show more content…

There are several virulence factors associated with the initial infection, including: filamentous hemagglutinin (FHA) and the pertussis toxin. Bordetella pertussis colonizes in the host via filamentous hemagglutinin (FHA) and the pertussis toxin. FHA is a large protein that forms filamentous structures on the cell surface and also binds to galactose residues on the surface of the trachea’s ciliated epithelial cells. The pertussis toxin is a protein that has five subunits: S1, S2, S3, S4, and S5, is also involved in adherence to the tracheal epithelium. Many of these components are also known as adhesions, which bind the bacteria to the host cell. While others utilize different receptors and bind to a glycolipid found specifically on the tracheal epithelium. Bordetella pertussis also produces its own toxins, such as invasive adenylate cyclase, which is a single polypeptide that enters epithelial cells, locally reduces phagocytic activity, and lyses red blood cells, and initiates infection. Lethal toxin, formerly called dermonecrotic toxin, is a protein that causes inflammation where Bordetella pertussis colonizes. Tracheal toxin, a peptidoglycan fragment, destroys ciliated cells, stimulates the release of interleukin-1, and causes fever. Once infected, the individual receives antibiotics, usually erythromycin. In order to have more control of this disease, there needs

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