Pertussis is a highly contagious acute respiratory disease caused by an aerobic Gram-negative encapsulated coir bacillus, Bordetella pertussis. It is a strict human pathogen with no known animal or environmental reservoir and is an airborne disease. Upon inhalation, Bordetella pertussis colonizes the hair cells of the bronchioepithelium to cause a disease characterized by: epithelial damage, hypersecretion of mucus, pulmonary edema and paroxysmal cough. It is often accompanied by pneumonia, otitis-edema, convulsions, post-tussive vomiting and encephalopathy (1). For disease to occur, Bordetella pertussis evades the host's immune system and disseminates into the lower respiratory tract. The inhaled bacterial droplets then attach to the hairy epithelial cells of the nose, pharynx and trachea. It is at this stage that Bordetella pertussis produces virulent factors classified into two: adhesins and toxins. Adhesins ensure the attachment of bacteria to epithelial cells, while toxins intervene in the host's immune system. Adhesins include: filamentous hemagglutinin, fimbriae, and pertactin, while toxins include pertussis toxin, tracheal cytotoxin, and adenylate cyclase toxin (1). To understand the role of these virulence factors in pertussis, a mouse model was used (2). Studies have shown that pertactin, a 69 kDa non-fimbrial outer membrane protein, facilitates the attachment of the bacteria to ciliated respiratory cells. Experiments carried out on humans to test the role of pertactin showed no significant effects except with the results of Bassinet (4). Additionally, filamentous hemagglutinin confers infection by attaching to host cells in the lower respiratory tract. It is approximately 2 nm wide and 50 n...... middle of paper......lonization by Bordetella pertussis and identification of an immunodominant lipoprotein. Infect Immun 72: 3350-335810. Mielcarek N, Debrie AS, Raze D et al (2006) Attenuated Bordetella pertussis: new live vaccines for intranasal immunization. Vaccine 24 (Suppl 2):54-5511. Flak TA, Goldman WE (1999) Signaling and cell specificity of airway nitric oxide production in pertussis. Cellular Microbiol 1:51-6012. Amirthalingam G. Strategies to control whooping cough in infants (2013) Arch Dis Child 98(7):552-5. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2012-302968. PMid:2369859413. Campbell H., Amirthalingam G, Andrews N, Fry NK, George RC, Harrison TG et al. Accelerating pertussis control in England and Wales Emerg Infect Dis, 18 (2012), pp. 38-414. http://www.hpa.org.uk/hpr/archives/2013/news1913.htm15. http://www.wales.nhs.uk/sites3/page.cfm?orgid=457&pid=58100