[Diagnosis of whooping cough by serology and real-time PCR]

The goal of this study is to summarize the results of the detection of Bordetella pertussis (BP) and Bordetella parapertussis (BPP) by a real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay and serological methods. In 2008-2010, 73 patients of the Department of Clinical Immunology and Allergology of the Centre for Immunology and Microbiology, Public Health Institute in Ústí nad Labem were screened for pertussis. They were selected according to the WHO and ECDC criteria, i. e. they presented with a persistent cough lasting more than two weeks. Direct detection of BP and BPP DNA from nasopharyngeal wash specimens was performed using a RT PCR assay. The serological responses were evaluated by a direct agglutination test for the detection of total antibodies and by enzyme-linked immunosobent assay (ELISA) for the detection of IgG, IgA, and IgM antibodies against pertussis toxin. Forty-two patients were positive for BP and/or BPP, 19 of them by RT-PCR (group A) and 23 by serology (group B). Ten group A patients (52.6%) were also positive by serology. Our results show that pertussis needs to be a consideration in persistent cough. We believe that increased awareness of the medical community, along with improved laboratory tests will result in increased detection of pertussis that is still considered by many physicians as a childhood infection.