Isolation of bacteria of genus Bordetella and serological studies in Brazilian children with symptoms of whoping-cough

Abstract

Cultures from cough plates and swabs were performed in 255 children with whooping-cough symptoms, hospitalized at "Hospital de Isolamento Emilio Ribas" in S. Paulo. Complement fixation and agglutination tests for Bordetella pertussis, agglutination tests for B. parapertussis and complement fixation test for adenovirus were performed in 46 children, using two blood samples taken one month apart; the isolation results for bacteria of genus Bordetella were correlated to the, period of illness, some of the major symptoms and the clinical diagnosis. A discussion of the efficiency and limitations of both bacteriological and serological tests in the laboratory diagnosis is presented.