Bordetella Screen
The test designed to detect Bordetella pertussis, Bordetella parapertussis, Bordetella bronchiseptica, Bordetella holmesii DNA in human biomaterial and bacterial cultures by real-time PCR.Category «Respiratory tract infections»
Characteristics of the genus Bordetella
Bacteria of the genus Bordetella are Gram-negative organisms that cause whooping cough and pertussis-like infections in humans and animals.
The main clinically significant Bordetellaspecies include:
- B. pertussis: the principal species and the classical causative agent of whooping cough in humans. This is an acute disease transmitted primarily via airborne droplets, with paroxysmal spasmodic cough as the main symptom. Whooping cough is most dangerous for unvaccinated infants in their first year of life.
- B. parapertussis: causes a pertussis-like infection in humans (parapertussis), which generally has a milder course and fewer complications than classic whooping cough.
- B. bronchiseptica: causes bronchisepticosis (upper respiratory tract disease) in animals; in humans, infection may present as an acute respiratory illness with paroxysmal cough that worsens in the evening. The most common complication is pneumonia. In immunocompromised patients, the disease may become invasive, leading to bacteremia and sepsis. Rare cases of endocarditis, meningitis, and wound infections have also been reported.
- B. holmesii: causes a pertussis-like syndrome in healthy individuals, with spasmodic cough and shortness of breath, typically in a milder form. More severe disease may occur in young children. It can also cause pneumonia and endocarditis in immunocompromised patients and bacteremia in patients with functional or anatomical asplenia.
The highest risk of B. pertussis transmission occurs during the early stage of the disease, when upper respiratory symptoms and spasmodic cough develop. Infections caused by Bordetella parapertussis, Bordetella bronchiseptica, and Bordetella holmesii are generally milder, but complications may occur in immunocompromised patients. In previously vaccinated individuals, the disease may present atypically, while the risk of transmission to others remains.
Virulence factors
- Toxins (pertussis toxin, adenylate cyclase toxin, tracheal cytotoxin, and dermonecrotic toxin) that damage the ciliated epithelium of the respiratory tract and disrupt the host immune response.
- Adhesion factors (filamentous hemagglutinin, FHA, and fimbriae), which are key virulence determinants enabling colonization of the respiratory epithelium.
- For B. holmesii, described virulence factors include FHA-like proteins, outer membrane lipopolysaccharide, iron acquisition systems, and efflux pumps.
Indications for the test
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Clinical signs of whooping cough or a pertussis-like illness; -
Evaluation of patients with mild, atypical, or masked forms of infection; -
Testing of contacts in outbreak settings; -
Differential diagnosis of respiratory infections.
Bordetella Screen
The Bordetella Screen REAL-TIME PCR Detection Kit is designed to detect DNA of Bordetella pertussis, Bordetella parapertussis, Bordetella bronchiseptica, Bordetella holmesii in human biological material and bacterial cultures by real-time PCR.
Sample: Smears from nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal mucous membranes, bacterial cultures
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