Outbreak of pertussis in Basra, Iraq

A total of 133 pertussis cases were studied during an outbreak in Basra from June to December 1996. Most were females and were immunized. Bordetella spp. was isolated in 48.1% of the cases. The isolation rate was highest among infants and decreased with increasing age, and was highest during the catarrhal stage. B. pertussis was the most common species; however, B. parapertussis infection did occur. There were some severe cases of pertussis among infants caused mainly by B. pertussis and dual Bordetella infection. Infection was transmitted by close contact with a pertussis case

Evaluation of serum opsonic capacity against Bordetella pertussis by chemiluminescence

Serum opsonic capacity against B, pertussis was studied by using quantitative chemiluminescence [CL], a method known to have several advantages over conventional methods in evaluating opsonization and phagocytosis. Sera from unvaccinated infants was shown not to contain opsonins against B. pertussis and in unvaccinated infants suffering from whooping cough, no opsonins were detected. In adults fully vaccinated during childhood, antibody liters decreased with time. Therefore, antibody transfer to infants is negligible. The CL assay is simple, rapid, and reproducible, offering new possibilities to evaluate humoral immune mechanisms and phagocytosis in whooping cough