Although an individual may have the clinical presentation for Bordetella pertussis infection, laboratory confirmation is difficult. To rule out a whooping cough infection, a respiratory sample must be obtained for the detection of Bordetella pertussis. For best results, a nasopharyngeal swab should be directly inoculated onto media for culture. Throat swabs are unlikely to obtain the bacteria of interest as B. pertussis is likely to be found on the walls of the nasopharynx. The use of cough plates can even be used, where a plate is held directly in front of the patient to cough on and collect their respiratory droplets.
The most common diagnostic method used to confirm a Bordetella infection is via bacterial culture. For B. pertussis, specialist media should be used for culturing. The contents of the media are important as it is…show more content… In the past, culture has been the gold standard of diagnosis, but PCR testing is quickly surpassing it as the most preferred method of diagnosis due to its rapid and sensitive results.
b) Explain how B. pertussis colonises the lower respiratory tract and discuss the virulence factors it deploys for pathogenesis. (50%)
Transmission of B. pertussis via respiratory droplets. This bacteria only colonizes the ciliated respiratory epithelium of the tracheo-bronchial tract, but does not invade deeper tissues. Here they aggregate and multiply. This prevents the cilia from performing their function of clearing material from the respiratory tract and accumulation of mucous and materials results in coughing. The mucous accumulation itself acts as a physical protective barrier against bacteria.
Virulence is a characteristic of some bacteria that allows the organism to infect a host and cause disease. Virulence factors are the accessories that aid the organism to colonize the host. B. pertussis has multiple virulence factors that it can deploy for
