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Bordetella pertussis infection: a cause of persistent cough in adults
Author(s) -
Robertson Peter W.,
Goldberg Hazel,
Jarvie Brian H.,
Smith Douglas D.,
Whybin L. Ross
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1987.tb120392.x
Subject(s) - bordetella pertussis , whooping cough , medicine , antibody , immunology , pertussis toxin , vaccination , biology , bacteria , g protein , genetics , receptor
An enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for Bordetella Pertussis ‐specific immunoglobulin (Ig)A antibody in serum was used to demonstrate B. pertussis infection. The upper limit of normal for the assay (mean + 3 SD) was established by testing sera that had been collected from a group of healthy blood donors. All 13 patients with clinical whooping cough from whom B. pertussis was isolated and 25.7% of 218 adults, who were aged 18–81 years, who were referred to a consultant physician for the investigation of a persistent cough, had elevated levels of IgA to B. pertussis . The study confirms the B. pertussis IgA ELISA as a sensitive test for the diagnosis of B. pertussis infections and that these infections cause respiratory illness, in particular, persistent cough in adults.