How Genomics Is Changing What We Know About the Evolution and Genome of Bordetella pertussis -- Molecular epidemiology of Bordetella pertussis -- Role of Major Toxin Virulence Factors in Pertussis Infection and Disease Pathogenesis -- Functional Programming of Innate Immune Cells in Response to Bordetella pertussis Infection and Vaccination -- Superior B. pertussis Specific CD4+ T-Cell Immunity Imprinted by Natural Infection -- Human Immune Responses to Pertussis Vaccines -- New Pertussis Vaccines: A Need and a Challenge -- Pertussis: Identification, Prevention and Control -- Pertussis in Low and Medium Income Countries: A Pragmatic Approach -- Clinical Findings and Management of Pertussis -- Pertussis Vaccines and Vaccination Strategies. An Ever-Challenging Health Problem.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of pertussis - also known as whooping cough. The first part discusses the evolution the genus Bordetellae and the molecular epidemiology of B. pertussis, while the following chapters focus on the role of B. pertussis virulence factors in infection and disease and on the mechanisms of the immune response to infection and vaccination. The book also explores the prevention and control of the disease as well as its clinical management, with the finally section addressing vaccination, from improved immunization strategies to novel vaccines. Pertussis remains one of the most poorly controlled vaccine-preventable diseases around the globe. Universal vaccination has dramatically reduced its incidence but has failed to bring it completely under control. In recent decades, changes in pertussis epidemiology have been noted, likely related to the use of acellular pertussis vaccines, which in many countries have replaced older-generation, whole-cell pertussis vaccines. Several years after their introduction, it is becoming apparent that immunity conferred by acellular vaccines wanes more rapidly than expected. Unlike whole-cell vaccines, acellular vaccines, while protecting against the disease, do not seem to prevent colonization and transmission. Increasing incidence among adolescents and adults makes them a reservoir for transmission to unimmunized infants, who in turn are at risk of severe disease and death. This book is a valuable resource for researchers and clinicians in the field of medical microbiology, vaccine research and infectious diseases.