LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Pertussis: Whooping
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Pertussis is transmitted either by direct contact with respiratory secretions or by airborne droplets of these secretions. The infected person is most contagious in the catarrhal stage, before a diagnosis of pertussis is usually suspected.
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The DTaP vaccine is composed of "inactive" pertussis bacteria. "Inactive" means that the part of bacteria in the vaccine is not able to cause an infection. When one gets the vaccine, the inactive bacteria are injected into the body, most often in the arm. The body recognizes the bacteria as foreign and starts making antibodies to fight the inactive bacteria. These antibodies then help protect the body from infection if a person comes in contact with someone who has pertussis in the future.
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The current Bordetella pertussis vaccine is a whole-cell vaccine which means that the vaccine uses whole dead B. pertussis cells. The whole-cell vaccine has been very effective for the majority of the population, but some people develop severe adverse reactions to this vaccine. This acute allergic reaction to the vaccine is caused by the bacteria’s lipopolyaccharide’s endotoxic activity. Like other Gram negative bacteria, Bordetella pertussis possesses lipopolysaccharides (LPS) on its outer membrane. Normally, the lipid component of LPS, which possesses the toxicity, is anchored inside the bacteria’s own membrane. However, sometimes when the bacteria die, some of the LPS get released into the environment and ... exposing the toxic part of the LPS.
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A doctor may diagnose a patient with Pertussis based on symptoms. A sample of mucus may be taken from the back of the nose and sent to a Laboratory for testing. The sample is then tested for the Pertussis bacteria. The Pertussis microorganism is very difficult to grow in the lab, so the test may come back as negative even if the patient has Pertussis. Treatment should be based on symptoms, not the laboratory results alone.
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Bordetella pertussis is a small, Gram-negative, coccoid bacterium about the size of 0.8 µm by 0.4 µm. It is an encapsulated immotile aerobe that does not make spores. Bordetella pertussis produces a number of virulence factors, including pertussis toxin, adenylate cyclase toxin, filamentous hemagglutinin, and hemolysin. It cannot survive in the environment; it must reside in a host either in small groups or singly. It grows at an optimal temperature of 35-37ºC. [1]
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Following are current resources identified by the Iowa Department of Public Health in the event of a Pertussis outbreak. This information is provided to assist health care providers increase their knowledge of prevention and control measures used in a Pertussis outbreak. The information is targeted toward public health officials, physicians, health care providers, infections control programs, emergency room staff, clinic managers, and school nurses.
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