Objectives: a) To develop laboratory procedures to diagnose infection with Bordetella pertussis. b) To determine which diagnostic procedures have the highest sensitivity and specificity for pertussis diagnosis at the different stages of illness. c) To apply these techniques to understand epidemiology of pertussis. FY93 Activities: 1. Planned a collaborative study with US Navy to determine the prevalence of B. pertussis infection in military recruits. Infection will be evaluated by culture, serology, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology. Sample collection and culture will be preformed by the Navy medical staff and serology and PCR will be performed by the Laboratory of Pertussis. Study scheduled to begin in September 1993. 2. Continued analysis of the data from a study in which the IgG and IgA antibodies to PT, FHA, pertactin, and fimbriae were measured in serum samples from 72 Japanese individuals with culture-confirmed pertussis.
