Pertussis, or whooping cough, is a respiratory disease caused primarily by infection with the bacterium Bordetella pertussis. It remains among the leading causes of death amongst vaccine-preventable diseases worldwide and recent years have seen its alarming re-emergence in many regions (including the U.S. and much of Europe), despite sustained high levels of vaccine coverage. The causes of the resurgence remain contentious, in part due to inherent complexities of the pathogensbiology, in part due to pronounced variation in the treatment and prevention strategies between different countries and regions, and in part due to long-standing disagreement amongst scientific researchers studying pertussis. This edited volume brings together expert knowledge from disparate fieldswith the overall aim of synthesizing the current understanding of this critically important, global pathogen.
Introduction to pertussis transmission and epidemiological dynamics; Basics of pertussis pathogenesis; The immunology of Bordetella pertussis infection and vaccination; Pertussis epidemiology; Role of vaccine schedules; Animal models; The human immune responses to pertussis and pertussis vaccines; Evolutionary epidemiology theory of vaccination; Temporal patterns of Bordetella pertussis genome sequence and structural evolution; Vaccine driven selection and the changing molecular epidemiology of Bordetella pertussis; Congenerics: What can be learned about pertussis from pertussis-like disease caused by other Bordetella?; Surveillance and diagnostics; Contrasting ecological and evolutionary signatures of whooping cough epidemiological dynamics; Pertussis immunity and the epidemiological impact of adult transmissiontransmission: Statistical evidence from Sweden and Massachusetts; Public health consequences;
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