Molecular detection of Bordetella holmesii in two infants with pertussis-like syndrome: the first report from Iran

• Main Authors: Masoumeh Nakhost Lotfi, Vajiheh Sadat Nikbin, Omid Nasiri, Farzad Badmasti, Fereshteh Shahcheraghi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Tehran University of Medical Sciences 2017-11-01
• Series: Iranian Journal of Microbiology
• Subjects: Bordetella holmesii; Real-time PCR; HIS1001; Pertussis-like Infections
• Online Access: https://ijm.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijm/article/view/1062

Background and Objectives: Bordetella holmesii is associated with a pertussis-like respiratory syndrome in healthy individuals and also a rare cause of septicaemia, endocarditis, pneumonia, and septic arthritis, mostly in immunocompromised patients. Culture technique and real-time PCR are 2 methods used to detect Bordetella spp. Materials and Methods: In this study, 435 nasopharyngeal specimens of patients with suspected whooping cough were checked for the presence of B. holmesii using 2 methods of culture technique and real-time PCR. Results: In this study, we detected hIS1001 and IS481 of B. holmesii in 2 infants suspected of having pertussis-like syndrome. Conclusion: Our observations demonstrate that accurate diagnosis is needed to discriminate between B. holmesii and B. pertussis infections among pertussis cases; otherwise, it could lead to misestimating pertussis rate and vaccine efficacy.