Part:BBa_K3289013

Bordetella Pertussis is a rod-shaped, Gram-negative, encapsulated, aerobic coccobacillus bacteria. It is nonmotile and does not produce spores. It is a lethal bacterium and is the cause of the disease Pertussis – better known as whooping cough. Pertussis is a highly contagious disease that can cause death if left untreated.

Major Concerns and Geographical prevalence:

Whooping cough is one of the most highly contagious and deadly diseases out there right now. The hallmark of the disease is the whooping noise that infected patients make after extensive periods of coughing. The highest people at risk are infants under the age of 1, since they are either incapable of taking the vaccine or their immune system is not fully developed yet. It was reported in 2015 a total of 58,700 deaths were caused by the disease. The disease can be found worldwide. Since the disease is extremely contagious, developing techniques for rapid detection are essential to prevent outbreaks.

Infection and Transmission:

B. Pertussis infects humans by invading the epithelial cells along the lungs. After that, the bacteria produce toxins that inhibit the host's immune function. Transmission between humans occurs by inhalation of droplets from an infected person. The pathogens can become airborne if an infected person coughs, sneezes or even laughs.

Symptoms of Infection:

Initial symptoms include fever, loss of appetite, runny nose, weakness, sneezing and coughing. Later on, vomiting as well as severe coughing spasms followed by a whooping sound develop.

Target Gene for Detection:

IS481: Repetitive, insertable element (transposable element) specific to the pathogen and is used for PCR diagnosis of the disease. The gene can also be found in other members of the genus Bordetella, which cause whooping cough like symptoms.