Whooping Cough
First described in the sixteenth century, whooping cough or pertussis is a relatively recent disease in human history, although some of the cough syndromes described in antiquity may in fact be pertussis-like diseases. Whooping cough caused by the gram-ne
- PDF / 271,038 Bytes
- 17 Pages / 595.276 x 790.866 pts Page_size
- 5 Downloads / 187 Views
Introduction and Historical Perspectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291 Clinical Manifestations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292 Epidemiology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293 Pathogenesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293 Animal Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295 Tools to Control Whooping Cough . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297 Diagnostics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297 Treatment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298 Prevention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298 Whole-Cell Pertussis Vaccines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298 Acellular Pertussis Vaccines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299 New Vaccination Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299 New Pertussis Vaccines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300
with the exception of a very recent baboon model. Since the discovery of its etiological agent, different diagnostic methods have been designed, including bacterial culture, serology, and, more recently, polymerase chain reaction. B. pertussis is sensitive to several antibiotics. Erythromycin is the drug of choice, and erythromycin-resistant B. pertussis isolates are rare. However, unless administered at the early catarrhal stage of the disease, antibiotic treatment is of little help to decrease the severity or to shorten the duration of the disease. Vaccination is today the most powerful tool to combat the disease. Several types of vaccines are currently available, including the whole-cell firstgeneration vaccines and the newer acellular second-generation vaccines. However, in view of the recent reemergence of pertussis, current vaccine regimens have shown their limits, and new vaccines are urgently needed. In that regard, live attenuated vaccines given very early in life may perhaps be able to protect the youngest and most vulnerable infants during the first months of life.
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
Introduction and Historical Perspectives Abstract First described in the sixteenth century, whooping cough or pertussis is a relatively recent disease in human history, although some of the cough syndromes described in antiquity may in fact be pertussis-like diseases. Whooping cough caused by the gramnegative bacterium Bordetella pertussis is a severe respiratory disease, especially life-threatening in early childhood. In addition to respiratory symptoms, characterized by paroxysmal cough and whoop, pertussis also manifests itself by a marked leukocytosis, and complications due to superinfections are com
Data Loading...
