Laboratory Manual for the diagnosis of whooping cough caused by bordetella pertussis/bordetella parapertussis : update 2014

Whooping cough is a worldwide infectious disease caused by the bacteria Bordetella pertussis and Bordetella parapertussis. It is a respiratory disease occurring after transmission of the bacteria from person- to-person in airborne droplets. The bacteria are highly infectious and unprotected close contacts are liable to become infected. Incidence is highest in children under five, except where infant vaccination programmes have been effective and a shift has occurred to adolescents.