title: Pertussis pathogenesis--what we know and what we don't know.
abstract: Pertussis is a worldwide public health threat. Bordetella pertussis produces multiple virulence factors that have been studied individually, and many have recently been found to have additional biological activities. Nevertheless, how they interact to cause the disease pertussis remains unknown. New animal models, particularly the infection of infant baboons with B. pertussis, are enabling longstanding questions about pertussis pathogenesis to be answered and new ones to be asked. Enhancing our understanding of pathogenesis will enable new approaches to the prevention and control of pertussis.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Medicine and Microbiology, Immunology and Cancer Biology, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, Virginia.
authors.forename: Erik L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Hewlett
authors.forename: Drusilla L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Burns
authors.forename: Peggy A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Cotter
authors.forename: Eric T
authors.initials: ET
authors.lastname: Harvill
authors.forename: Tod J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Merkel
authors.forename: Conrad P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Quinn
authors.forename: E Scott
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Stibitz
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D001886:Bordetella pertussis / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D010215:Papio; D014774:Virulence; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000378:metabolism*; D014917:Whooping Cough / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D037521:Virulence Factors
keywords: Bordetella pertussis; pathogenesis; pertussis; virulence factors; whooping cough