Bordetella pertussis bacteria.feature

Liza Gross Media on Aug 07, 2012 by
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Bordetella pertussis, the bacteria that causes pertussis (whooping cough) magnified 40,000 times under an electron microscope. (The image is colorized.) Bacteria cling to the cilia of the respiratory epithelial cells, paralyze cilia with toxins, and cause inflammation and dense mucus in the airways that induce coughing fits. Before a pertussis vaccine become available in the 1940s, pertussis was one of the most common childhood diseases and a major cause of death among children. Those who survive infection become immune to the disease, though public health officials think natural immunity, like vaccine-induced immunity, wears off. (Image: Energeo EU)

Bordetella pertussis, the bacteria that causes pertussis (whooping cough)

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