Researchers Crack Whooping Cough Genome
Researchers at the University of Cambridge, in collaboration with colleagues in the United States and Germany, announced in August that they had succeeded in sequencing the genome for Bordetella pertussis, the bacteria responsible for most cases of whooping cough.
The researchers also sequenced the genome for a closely related bacteria, Bordetella papapertussis which also causes whooping cough, as well as Bordetella bronchiseptica which causes respiratory infections in animals.
Although children in the developed are routinely vaccinated for whooping cough, vaccination is not routinely administered in many developing countries. Moreover, the effects of the vaccination can wear off in adulthood. As a result there are an estimated 20 to 30 million cases of whooping cough every year that are responsible for 200,000 to 400,000 deaths annually.
Sources:
Whooping cough genome revealed. Health Newswire Professional, August 13, 2003.
Gene map of cought killer. The BBC, August 11, 2003.
Scientists Crack Genetic Code of Whooping Cough Bacterium. Scout News, August 11, 2003.
The Researchers Crack Whooping Cough Genome by Brian Carnell, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.
Tags: Whooping Cough