CASE BASED REVIEW OF MEDICAL MICROBIOLOGY
Bordetella pertussis
Dr Tadayo Hashimoto M.D.
Professor
Department of Microbiology & Immunology
How is B. pertussis characterized microbiologically?
What cautions are necessary for successful culturing of B. pertussis form patients?
- Tiny (0.5-1 :m) Gram negative, non-motile coccobacilli
- A strict aerobe (requires oxygen for growth) which survives only briefly outside of the human respiratory tract.
- B. pertussis is a fragile organism requiring immediate culture. The specimen of choice is mucous from the posterior nasopharynx. A special transpsort medium such as Regan-Lowe or Jones-Kindrick medium must be ordered and used.
- Isolation requires special media (chocolate agar or Bordet-Gengou medium). The organism requires both the X and V factors for growth especially for initial isolation.
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