The morphological, cultural, biochemical, an(l nutritional characteristics of many of the species of microorganisms that are classified within the genera of Moraxella, Neisseria, Brucella, and Bordetella are so similar that identification of small gram negative organisms is both tedious and difficult. This impressive similarity that exists between species, and even between genera, is probably i...

Bordetella bronchiseptica chronically infects a wide range of mammals, and resides primarily in the nasal cavity of the infected host. Multiple virulence factors of Bordetella species have been studied in the context of lower respiratory tract infections, but relatively less is known about the bacterial life cycle in the nasal cavity. Evidences were discovered for Bvg intermediate (Bvg(i)) phas...

Subtractive hybridization was carried out to identify differences between the sequenced genome of Bordetella pertussis Tohama I and those of two recently collected isolates. We identified genetic regions specific to recent isolates, old isolates, and isolates of B. parapertussis and B. bronchiseptica species. We conclude that Tohama I strain is not representative of the B. pertussis species.

In many clinical microbiology laboratories, nucleic acid amplification tests such as PCR have become the routine methods for the diagnosis of pertussis. While PCR has greatly increased the ability of laboratories to detect Bordetella pertussis infections, it has also been associated with false-positive results that can, given the tendency of B. pertussis to cause outbreaks, result in unnecessar...

Bordetella pertussis, the etiological agent of whooping cough, synthesizes a calmodulin-sensitive adenylate cyclase that is suspected to play a major role in the virulence of this bacterium. We show that adenylate cyclase synthesized as a 200-kilodalton protein is the product of the cyaA gene and that various virulent Bordetella species secrete this high-molecular-weight polypeptide without app...

Bordetella hinzii is known to cause respiratory disease in poultry and has been associated with a variety of infections in immunocompromised humans. In addition, there are several reports of B. hinzii infections in laboratory-raised mice. Here we sequenced and analysed the complete genome sequences of multiple B. hinzii-like isolates, obtained from vendor-supplied C57BL/6 mice in animal researc...

Two closely related pathogens, Bordetella pertussis and Bordetella bronchiseptica, share a number of virulence factors. Filamentous haemagglutinin (FHA) is widely regarded as the dominant adhesin of B. pertussis, and its multiple binding activities have been well characterized. This large protein is produced and secreted at high levels by B. pertussis and significantly lower levels by B. bronch...

In order to initially colonize a host, bacteria must avoid various components of the innate immune system, one of which is complement. The genus Bordetella includes three closely related species that differ in their ability to resist complement-mediated killing. Bordetella parapertussis and Bordetella bronchiseptica resist killing in naïve serum, a characteristic that may aid in efficient respi...

BACKGROUND Pertussis, a vaccine preventable disease, is still responsible of significant morbidity and mortality around the world, mostly in newborns. The aim of the present study was (1) to introduce pertussis surveillance in the major pediatric hospital of Casablanca (2) to analyze the prevalence of pertussis among children under 14 years of age and their entourage in Casablanca, Morocco. M...