Bordetella pertussis

Overview

Bordetella pertussis is a Gram-negative, aerobic coccobacillus and the causative agent of pertussis, commonly known as whooping cough — a highly contagious respiratory disease characterized by severe paroxysmal coughing episodes. The bacterium colonizes the ciliated epithelium of the upper respiratory tract, where it elaborates a suite of virulence factors including pertussis toxin (PTx), filamentous haemagglutinin (FHA), and pertactin (PRN), each of which plays a distinct role in adherence, immune evasion, and systemic pathology. Pertussis toxin, an ADP-ribosylating exotoxin, disrupts G-protein signaling in host immune cells and is a principal mediator of systemic immunomodulation; FHA functions as a major adhesin facilitating bacterial attachment to respiratory epithelial cells; and pertactin contributes to colonization resistance against neutrophil-mediated clearance. The disease disproportionately burdens infants under six months of age — who are too young to have completed primary vaccination — and can result in apnea, pneumonia, and death.

Immunization has been the cornerstone of pertussis control since the mid-twentieth century. Whole-cell pertussis (wP) vaccines were succeeded in many countries by acellular pertussis (aP) formulations, which combine pertussis toxoid and accessory antigens such as FHA and pertactin with reduced reactogenicity. Despite achieving high global vaccination coverage, pertussis continues to re-emerge in adolescents and adults, owing in part to waning immunity conferred by aP vaccines and, increasingly, evidence that aP vaccines may not prevent asymptomatic infection and onward transmission. Cytokine responses including interferon-gamma (IFNG) and interleukin-17A (IL17A) are implicated in durable mucosal and cellular immunity to B. pertussis, forming an active area of investigation in next-generation vaccine design.

Focus of Latest Publications

Recent publications on Bordetella pertussis have focused largely on vaccination, immune responses, and pertussis prevention in vulnerable populations. In preterm infants, a prospective observational study evaluated vaccine-induced antibody titers against Bordetella pertussis after early neonatal antibiotic exposure and found reduced antibody responses at four months corrected age, with the effect appearing more pronounced in girls. The same study linked antibiotic exposure to altered early gut microbiome patterns, increased monocytes and myeloid-derived suppressor cells in exposed girls, and metabolomic changes that correlated with these immune differences, suggesting that early-life antibiotics may impair pertussis vaccine responsiveness through microbiome- and immune-mediated pathways.

Several studies addressed pertussis vaccination uptake and knowledge in human populations. Among pregnant women in Saudi Arabia, a cross-sectional survey found substantial gaps in knowledge about pertussis and the Tdap vaccine, despite generally positive attitudes toward vaccination; concerns about side effects and safety were common, and the authors emphasized the need for targeted education to improve uptake and maternal-infant protection. In Australian parents of newborns, a qualitative focus on “No Vax, No Visit” described a parent-led practice intended to reduce newborn exposure to pertussis by requiring visitors to be up to date with Tdap/dTpa vaccination, highlighting the psychosocial burden of enforcing such boundaries. In children with cystic fibrosis in Tuscany, Bordetella pertussis was included among mandatory respiratory vaccinations assessed in a retrospective review, which reported excellent coverage for mandatory vaccines overall, though the study’s main concern was broader preventive strategy optimization in this high-risk group.

Other recent work examined pertussis infection and vaccine performance more directly. A longitudinal study in adolescents vaccinated with acellular pertussis vaccine investigated asymptomatic Bordetella pertussis infection during an outbreak and aimed to characterize the associated serologic response, reflecting ongoing concern that acellular vaccines may not fully prevent silent transmission. In parallel, a rodent-model study developed an intranasal nano-adjuvanted pertussis vaccine candidate using filamentous haemagglutinin and pertussis toxoid encapsulated in N-trimethyl chitosan with CpG as adjuvant and crosslinker; nasal administration produced strong humoral and mucosal responses, including increased IgG and secretory IgA, along with induction of IFN-γ, IL-4, and IL-17, supporting the potential of mucosal delivery strategies for improved pertussis immunogenicity.

Taken together, these publications portray Bordetella pertussis as a continuing target of vaccine-focused research spanning maternal immunization, pediatric protection, outbreak surveillance, and next-generation vaccine design. The studies collectively underscore persistent challenges in vaccine coverage, possible modifiers of vaccine response such as early antibiotic exposure, and the need for improved strategies to prevent pertussis in newborns, adolescents, and other vulnerable populations.

Key Publications

• NEWJun Suboptimal vaccine coverage for preventable respiratory infections in children with cystic fibrosis in the Cystic Fibrosis Regional Reference Centre of Tuscany: Need for improving preventive strategies. (Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics, 2026, PMID 42373575): "This retrospective study assessed compliance with mandatory (H. influenzae type B, Bordetella pertussis) and non-mandatory (S. pneumoniae, COVID-19, Influenza) vaccinations for preventable respiratory diseases in cwCF in regular follow-up at the Regional Reference Center of Tuscany."
• NEWJun Early antibiotic exposure and vaccine immune responses in preterm infants: potential sex-specific differences. (Gut microbes, 2026, PMID 42363866): "We assessed vaccine-induced antibody titers against Bordetella pertussis and Haemophilus influenzae, immune cell profiles (flow cytometry), gut microbiome composition (16S rRNA sequencing), and plasma amino acid and acylcarnitine levels (tandem mass spectrometry)."
• May Knowledge, attitude, beliefs, and behaviors of Saudi pregnant women towards Tdap vaccine. (Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics, 2026, PMID 42216579): "Improving communication by health providers can increase vaccination uptake among pregnant women to ensure an increase in the protection of mothers and infants against whooping cough."
• Jul "No Vax, No Visit": Psychosocial Impacts of Vaccination-Based Visitation Boundaries Among Australian Parents of Newborns. (Health promotion journal of Australia : official journal of Australian Association of Health Promotion Professionals, 2026, PMID 42178144): "aimed at reducing newborns' risk of exposure to pertussis by encouraging visitors to be up to date with tetanus-diphtheria-pertussis (Tdap/dTpa) vaccination prior to contact."
• Jun Long-term trends in childhood mortality following the expansion of vaccination programs: a 60-year analysis from a university hospital in Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. (Acta tropica, 2026, PMID 41974316): "Diphtheria and measles were the next most frequent causes of death, while whooping cough, although less common, was an important cause of mortality in early infancy."
• May Longitudinal assessment of asymptomatic infection of Bordetella pertussis among pertussis acellular vaccinated adolescents. (Vaccine, 2026, PMID 41967186): "Recent animal model data suggest that acellular pertussis (aP) vaccines do not prevent asymptomatic Bordetella pertussis infection."
• May A Novel Intranasal Nano-Adjuvanted Pertussis Vaccine with Enhanced Mucosal Delivery and Immunogenicity in a Rodent Model. (Japanese journal of infectious diseases, 2026, PMID 40738659): "The present study developed a novel nano-structured nasal Bordetella pertussis vaccine candidate using filamentous haemagglutinin (FHA) and pertussis toxoid (PTd) encapsulated in N-trimethyl chitosan (TMC) with cytosine phosphoguanine (CpG) serving as both an adjuvant and crosslinker (CpG-adjuvanted TMC/PTd-FHA), followed by physicochemical characterization and immune response evaluation after nasal administration."