Description
Whooping cough is a disease of the respiratory tracts which is caused by Bordetella pertussis bacteria. It is transmitted by airborne infection. The gramnegative Coccobacillus produces a series of biologically active molecules. The different compounds appear either during the pathogenesis or during the process of immunization against pertussis and show different effects. A characterisation has been made for the pertussis toxin (pt), the filamentery haemagglutinine (fha) and different lipopolysaccharides (lps). Pertussis shows a high rate of transmission (rates of infection of over 90 % have been found for non-vaccinated household members) and can cause severe diseases, especially for very young children. From 10749 patients under one year between 1980 and 1989 69 % were brought into hospital, 22 % suffered from pneumonia, 0.9 % showed an Encephalopathy and 0.6 % died. For older children and adults (including already vaccinated persons) the infection may be observed by an unspecified bronchitis or inflammation of the upper respiratory tracts. Even asymptomatic cases are quite common