Variation in virulence between three representative <i>Bordetella pertussis</i> pertactin-negative clinical isolates.

ABSTRACT: Pertussis is a respiratory disease caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis. Acellular pertussis (aP) vaccines replaced more reactogenic whole-cell pertussis (wP) vaccines in the United States in the 1990s. Despite high rates of vaccination, a slow but consistent increase in the number of U.S. pertussis cases was observed starting in the 1980s that accelerated following the introduction of aP vaccines. Most aP vaccines contain pertussis toxoid (PT), filamentous hemagglutinin (FHA), and pertactin (PRN), and some contain fimbriae (FIM 2/3). Countries that transitioned into aP vaccines have observed increasing rates of pertactin-negative (PRN^NEG) clinical isolates, exceeding 85% in some countries. This outcome suggests B. pertussis does not require PRN, and immune

SUBMITTER: Lamond N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12379594 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature