Bacterial Infections and Mycoses Commons^™

Enhanced Production Of Pro-Il-1Βeta Contributes To Immunopathology During The Coinfection Of Influenza A Virus And Streptococcus Pneumoniae, Angeline E. Rodriguez

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Viral bacterial coinfections are known to cause severe pneumonia, especially in the elderly and in pediatric patients. Antibiotics like β-Lactams kill the bacteria but fail to improve symptoms suggesting a faulty immune system may play an important role in the disease. Interleukin-1β (IL-1β) is an important immune signaling cytokine responsible for inflammation. It exists as an inactive precursor that can be activated by caspase-1 containing inflammasomes (multi-protein complex). Influenza A virus (IAV) and Streptococcus pneumoniae (S. pneumoniae) activate the inflammasome through the NOD-like receptor protein NLRP3 and/or AIM2. Previous reports in mice indicate that IL-1β levels are dramatically …

Bioprospecting Deep-Sea Actinobacteria For Novel Anti-Infective Natural Products, Dongbo Xu, Linna Han, Chunhui Li, Qi Cao, Duolong Zhu, Nolan H. Barrett, Dedra Harmody, Jing Chen, Haining Zhu, Peter J. Mccarthy, Xingmin Sun, Guojun Wang

Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry Faculty Publications

The global prevalence of drug resistance has created an urgent need for the discovery of novel anti-infective drugs. The major source of antibiotics in current clinical practice is terrestrial actinobacteria; the less-exploited deep-sea actinobacteria may serve as an unprecedented source of novel natural products. In this study, we evaluated 50 actinobacteria strains derived from diverse deep water sponges and environmental niches for their anti-microbial activities against a panel of pathogens including Candida albicans, Clostridium difficile, Staphylococcus aureus, and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. More than half of the tested strains (27) were identified as …

In Vitro Assay Development As An Alternative To The Use Of Laboratory Animals For Measuring Clostridium Perfingens Type C Toxoid, Lauren M. Wilmes

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Clostridium perfringens type C produces beta toxin, which is a primary virulence determinate that can cause necrotic enteritis in neonatal animals. Vaccines directed against C. perfringens toxins have shown to be efficacious in preventing disease. However, the production of a commercial vaccine requires not only an efficacious antigen, but also testing methods for quantifying antigens and potency on final product. This research was undertaken to fulfill a need for the reduction in small animal usage to produce and deliver vaccines. The current testing methods are performed in vivo according to the Code of Federal Regulations number 9 (9CFR) United …

Microbial Co-Infection Alters Macrophage Polarization, Phagosomal Escape, And Microbial Killing, Nikita H. Trivedi, Jieh-Juen Yu, Chiung-Yu Hung, Richard P. Doelger, Christopher S. Navara, Lisa Y. Armitige, Janakiram Seshu, Anthony P. Sinai, James P. Chambers, M. Neal Guentzel, Bernard P. Arulanandam

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

Macrophages are important innate immune cells that respond to microbial insults. In response to multi-bacterial infection, the macrophage activation state may change upon exposure to nascent mediators, which results in different bacterial killing mechanism(s). In this study, we utilized two respiratory bacterial pathogens, Mycobacterium bovis (Bacillus Calmette Guẻrin, BCG) and Francisella tularensis live vaccine strain (LVS) with different phagocyte evasion mechanisms, as model microbes to assess the influence of initial bacterial infection on the macrophage response to secondary infection. Non-activated (M0) macrophages or activated M2-polarized cells (J774 cells transfected with the mouse IL-4 gene) were first infected with BCG for …

Rapid Identification And Typing Of Mycobacterium Avium Complex Using Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-Of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (Maldi-Tof) Library And Biomarker Based Approaches, Claudia Antonika, John Dustin Loy, Raul Barletta, Michael Collins

UCARE: Research Products

Bacteria associated with the Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) cause significant problems in animal agriculture and cause large economic losses and morbidity of livestock. Two clinically important subspecies of M. avium are M.avium ssp paratuberculosis (MAP) and M. avium ssp hominissuis (MAH). MAP is the etiologic agent of Johne’s disease, a chronic and fatal enteritis in ruminants, that has been linked to Crohn’s disease in humans.1 MAH has zoonotic potential as it is one of the leading causes of secondary infections in AIDS patients. Identification of M. avium in clinical samples is challenging as they have overlapping host ranges and clinical …

Developing Novel Therapeutics For Bacterial Lung Infections, Brandon J. Baer, Ruud Veldhuizen, Cory Yamashita

Western Research Forum

Background: Bacterial lung infections are leading causes of death worldwide. Unfortunately, increasing resistance to antibiotics and the inflammation often accompanying these infections are leading to poor outcomes despite antibiotic intervention. Complicating treatment further, the tree-like branching structure of the lung makes drug delivery to distal sites of infection difficult. Our research aims to address these challenges by developing new therapeutics and new tools to improve and assess drug delivery, bacterial killing and inflammation. Our therapy combines host defense peptides, which have been shown to kill antibiotic-resistant bacteria and down regulate inflammation, with a pulmonary vehicle, exogenous surfactant, that can improve …

Gas Plasma Pre-Treatment Increases Antibiotic Sensitivity And Persister Eradication In Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus, Li Guo, Ruobing Xu, Yiming Zhao, Dingxin Liu, Zhijie Liu, Xiaohua Wang, Hailan Chen, Michael G. Kong

Bioelectrics Publications

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a major cause of serious nosocomial infections, and recurrent MRSA infections primarily result from the survival of persister cells after antibiotic treatment. Gas plasma, a novel source of ROS (reactive oxygen species) and RNS (reactive nitrogen species) generation, not only inactivates pathogenic microbes but also restore the sensitivity of MRSA to antibiotics. This study further found that sublethal treatment of MRSA with both plasma and plasma-activated saline increased the antibiotic sensitivity and promoted the eradication of persister cells by tetracycline, gentamycin, clindamycin, chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin, rifampicin, and vancomycin. The short-lived ROS and RNS generated by plasma …

Discovery Of New Antimicrobial Options And Evaluation Of Aminoglycoside Resistance Enzyme-Associated Resistance Epidemic, Selina Y. L. Holbrook

Theses and Dissertations--Pharmacy

The extensive and sometimes incorrect and noncompliant use of various types of antimicrobial agents has accelerated the development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). In fact, AMR has become one of the greatest global threat to human health in this era. The broad-spectrum antibiotics aminoglycosides (AGs) display excellent potency against most Gram-negative bacteria, mycobacteria, and some Gram-positive bacteria, such as Staphylococcus aureus. The AG antibiotics amikacin, gentamicin, kanamycin, and tobramycin are still commonly prescribed in the U.S.A. for the treatment of serious infections. Unfortunately, bacteria evolve to acquire resistance to AGs via four different mechanisms: i) changing in membrane permeability to …

Developing Algorithms For Quantifying The Super Resolution Microscopic Data: Applications To The Quantification Of Protein-Reorganization In Bacteria Responding To Treatment By Silver Ions, Sai Divya Challapalli

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Histone-like nucleoid structuring proteins (HNS) play significant roles in shaping the chromosomal DNA, regulation of transcriptional networks in microbes, as well as bacterial responses to environmental changes such as temperature fluctuations. In this work, the intracellular organization of HNS proteins in E. coli bacteria was investigated utilizing super-resolution fluorescence microscopy, which surpasses conventional microscopy by 10–20 fold in spatial resolution. More importantly, the changes of the spatial distribution of HNS proteins in E. coli, by addition of silver ions into the growth medium were explored. To quantify the spatial distribution of HNS in bacteria and its changes, an automatic method …

Phytochemical Screening And Determination Of Antibacterial, Anti-Tumorigenic And Dna Protection Ability Of Root Extracts Of Saussurea Lappa, Sughra Arif Minhas, Fida Muhammad Khan, Fakhar-I- Abbas, Abu Ul Hassan Faiz

Journal of Bioresource Management

Saussurea lappa is a traditionally well-known plant for its medicinal uses in different indigenous systems of medicine. It is widely used in the treatment of asthma, ulcer, stomach problems and inflammatory diseases. In current study the phytochemical screening of S. lappa showed the presence of sesquiterpenes, anthraquinones, lignans, alkaloids, flavonoids, glycosides and steroids. Antimicrobial potential of subject plant was also investigated against three bacterial strains and maximum antibacterial activity was observed by CEE against S. aureus, CAE against P. aeruginosa, while CME, CEE, EAE and PEE showed almost same significant activity against E. coli. The CME (1000 …

Rehabilitation Of An Injured Golden Eagle (Aquila Chrysaetos): A Case Study, Fida Muhammad Khan, Fakhar-I- Abbas, Abu Ul Hassan Faiz

Journal of Bioresource Management

Habitat destruction and anthropogenic activities cause wild birds to migrate towards urban areas in search of food and sometimes nesting in high-roof buildings, where they are caught by local people using different techniques and are further used for hunting or recreational purposes. An injured Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) was found entangled in bushes near the vicinity of Balkasar Research Complex, Chakwal, Pakistan. After complete physical examination, a wound on the right wing and closed leg fracture was diagnosed. The successful treatment was done by anti-parasitic and anti-bacterial drugs with careful monitoring. Splint was adjusted after aligning the fractured …

Characterization Of Different Molecular Markers For Identification Of Salmonella Enterica Serovar Typhi In Pakistani Population, Faizan Muttiullah, Fida Muhammad Khan, Fakhar-I- Abbas, Sabiha Shamim

Journal of Bioresource Management

Typhoid is caused by Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi that is usually diagnosed by using serologic and immuno-chromatographic techniques in developing counties including Pakistan, which is thought to be an unreliable diagnostic method. For accurate diagnosis we used molecular techniques to amplify 204 bp StyR-36 and 498 bp flagellin gene for the identification of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi. This study was done on 58 individuals diagnosed positive of typhoid via serologic tests and 50 healthy individuals as a control group. Success rate of amplification for flagellin gene was 77.58% while that for StyR-36 gene was 68.97% showing that flagellin gene primer …

The Feoabc Locus Of Yersinia Pestis Likely Has Two Promoters Causing Unique Iron Regulation, Lauren O'Connor, Jacqueline D. Fetherston, Robert D. Perry

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

The FeoABC ferrous transporter is a wide-spread bacterial system. While the feoABC locus is regulated by a number of factors in the bacteria studied, we have previously found that regulation of feoABC in Yersinia pestis appears to be unique. None of the non-iron responsive transcriptional regulators that control expression of feoABC in other bacteria do so in Y. pestis. Another unique factor is the iron and Fur regulation of the Y. pestis feoABC locus occurs during microaerobic but not aerobic growth. Here we show that this unique iron-regulation is not due to a unique aspect of the Y. pestis …

Colonization Density Of The Upper Respiratory Tract As A Predictor Of Pneumonia-Haemophilus Influenzae, Moraxella Catarrhalis, Staphylococcus Aureus, And Pneumocystis Jirovecii., Daniel E Park, Henry C Baggett, Stephen R C Howie, Qiyuan Shi, Nora L Watson, W Abdullah Brooks, Perch Study Group

Epidemiology Faculty Publications

Background.

There is limited information on the association between colonization density of upper respiratory tract colonizers and pathogen-specific pneumonia. We assessed this association for Haemophilus influenzae, Moraxella catarrhalis, Staphylococcus aureus, and Pneumocystis jirovecii. Methods.

In 7 low- and middle-income countries, nasopharyngeal/oropharyngeal swabs from children with severe pneumonia and age-frequency matched community controls were tested using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Differences in median colonization density were evaluated using the Wilcoxon rank-sum test. Density cutoffs were determined using receiver operating characteristic curves. Cases with a pathogen identified from lung aspirate culture or PCR, pleural fluid culture or …

The Effect Of Staphylococcus Aureus On Stiffness Of Cortical Bone, Ariel N. Kunde

Graduate Theses

Osteomyelitis, a term for bone infection, is a common cause of hospitalization in the United States. Infection leading to osteomyelitis is almost always a product of bacterial origin. Although polymicrobial presence is seen at infection sites of osteomyelitis, Staphylococcus aureus is most commonly isolated and found to be the cause of more than 95% of bone infection in adults. This organism is a common commensal of humans that is carried by an estimated 60% of the US population. S. aureus is transferred by infected asymptomatic individuals, and its ability to proliferate under a variety of environmental conditions contributes to the …

Lymphoid Hematopoiesis And The Role Of B-Cells In Transgenic Mouse Model Of Sickle Cell Disease, Christina Cotte

University Scholar Projects

Sickle cell disease (SCD) has been shown to be associated with decreased baseline immunity and thus increased susceptibility to infection. I sought to discern possible causes of this by looking into the correlations between SCD and hematopoiesis, the immune system and the neuroendocrine system, and ultimately by conducting experiments surrounding the impaired immune system of SCD. These experiments focused on the potential causes and effects of the diminution of B-1a cells in the SCD spleen. Adoptive transfers, infections with Streptococcus pneumoniae, and histologic imaging were conducted to establish if the diminution of the B-1a cells in the SCD spleen …

Molecular Subtyping Of Staphylococcus Aureus Isolates From The U.P. Community For The Presence Of Toxin-Encoding Genes, Carol I. Kessel

All NMU Master's Theses

Staphylococcus aureus is the most common cause of human bacterial infections; however, humans can also be asymptomatically colonized with S. aureus. Asymptomatic carriers can potentially spread S. aureus infection to others. These infections can range from mild to severe. The pathology of a S. aureus infection is often dependent on which toxins are expressed and the virulence factors with which they are associated. One goal of this study was to isolate S. aureus from healthy, consenting adult volunteers who submitted nasal swabs for culture and qRT-PCR analysis to determine which strains are present in the community. This knowledge could …

Study Of Rickettsia Parkeri Colonization And Proliferation In The Tick Host Amblyomma Maculatum (Acari: Ixodidae), Khemraj Budachetri

Dissertations

Amblyomma maculatum (Gulf coast tick) ticks are prevalent across the Atlantic to Gulf Coast region of United States. These ticks are recognized vectors of Rickettsia parkeri, a spotted fever group of Rickettsia (SFGR) known to cause American boutonneuse fever associated with fever and eschar rashes localized to the site of bites. We hypothesized that Rickettsia parkeri colonization and proliferation in the tick vector involve pathogen-symbiont dynamics and tick-pathogen interactions, which influence rickettsial transmission to the victims after tick bites. The rickettsial infection is maintained across the tick life cycle for many generations due to transovarial and transstadial transmission of …

Understanding The Patterns Of Distribution And Abundance Of Lyme Disease Carrying Ticks And Their Hosts, Julio Ruiz

Honors Theses

Lyme disease is caused by the bacteria Borrelia burgodorferi and spreads to their hosts by the bites of infected Ixodes scapularis ticks. In the United States, Lyme disease is typically found in the northeast but in recent years the disease has begun to be found further south and west than previously before. Yet, today, little information can be found about the patters of distribution and abundance of ticks and their host. The main goal of this research work was to expand the knowledge of the abundance and distribution of ticks and host. Based on tick collection data obtained from Maikis …

Pulmonary Surfactant Fortified With Cath-2 As A Novel Therapy For Bacterial Pneumonia, Brandon J. Baer

Western Research Forum

Background: Bacterial pneumonia is a leading cause of death worldwide, with high mortality rates persisting even after antibiotic treatment. Current treatments for pneumonia involve administration of antibiotics, however after the bacteria are killed they release toxic substances that induce inflammation and lung dysfunction. Host defense peptides represent a potential solution to this problem through their ability to down regulate inflammation. However, effective delivery to the lung is difficult because of the complex branching structure of the airways. My study addresses this delivery problem by using exogenous surfactant, a pulmonary delivery vehicle capable of improving spreading of these peptides throughout the …

Enhanced Control Of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Extrapulmonary Dissemination In Mice By An Arabinomannan-Protein Conjugate Vaccine, R Prados-Rosales, L Carreno, T Cheng, C Blanc, B Weinrick, Aharona Glatman-Freedman, A Casadevall, S Hung, A Tripathi, J Xu, Aharona Glatman-Freedman, W Jacobs Jr., J Chan, S Porcelli, J Achkar, A Casadevall

NYMC Faculty Publications

Currently there are a dozen or so of new vaccine candidates in clinical trials for prevention of tuberculosis (TB) and each formulation attempts to elicit protection by enhancement of cell-mediated immunity (CMI). In contrast, most approved vaccines against other bacterial pathogens are believed to mediate protection by eliciting antibody responses. However, it has been difficult to apply this formula to TB because of the difficulty in reliably eliciting protective antibodies. Here, we developed capsular polysaccharide conjugates by linking mycobacterial capsular arabinomannan (AM) to either Mtb Ag85b or B. anthracis protective antigen (PA). Further, we studied their immunogenicity by ELISA and …

Plasmid Diversity And Phylogenetic Consistency In The Lyme Disease Agent Borrelia Burgdorferi, Sherwood R. Casjens, Eddie B. Gilcrease, Marija Vujadinovic, Emmanuel F. Mongodin, Benjamin J. Luft, Steven E. Schutzer, Claire M. Fraser, Wei-Gang Qiu

Publications and Research

Background: Bacteria from the genus Borrelia are known to harbor numerous linear and circular plasmids. We report here a comparative analysis of the nucleotide sequences of 236 plasmids present in fourteen independent isolates of the Lyme disease agent B. burgdorferi.

Results: We have sequenced the genomes of 14 B. burgdorferi sensu stricto isolates that carry a total of 236 plasmids. These individual isolates carry between seven and 23 plasmids. Their chromosomes, the cp26 and cp32 circular plasmids, as well as the lp54 linear plasmid, are quite evolutionarily stable; however, the remaining plasmids have undergone numerous non-homologous and often duplicative recombination …

Orientia Tsutsugamushi Secretes Two Ankyrin Repeat-Containing Effectors Via A Type 1 Secretion System To Inhibit Host Nf-Κb Function, Sean M. Evans

Theses and Dissertations

Scrub typhus is a potentially fatal infection that threatens one billion persons in the Asia-Pacific region and is caused by the obligate intracellular bacterium, Orientia tsutsugamushi. How this organism facilitates its intracellular survival and pathogenesis is poorly understood. Intracellular bacterial pathogens utilize the Type 1 (T1SS) or Type 4 secretion system (T4SS) to translocate ankyrin repeat-containing proteins (Anks) into the host cell to modulate host cell processes. The O. tsutsugamushi genome encodes one of the largest known bacterial Ank libraries as well as Type 1 and Type 4 secretion systems (T1SS and T4SS), which are expressed during infection. In …

Determining The Effects Of Methanol, Ethanol, Isopropanol, And Glycerol On Both Thermal Stability And Catalytic Activity Of Rv0045c, An Enzyme From M. Tuberculosis, Katelyn Baumer

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Tuberculosis (TB) is a highly infectious respiratory disease contracted through the inhalation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Serine hydrolases are abundant in M. tuberculosis and serve as a model for studying the inhibition of TB. Rv0045c is an example of such with little known regarding its biological function. Rv0045c was exposed to methanol, ethanol, isopropanol, or glycerol and the effects of varying concentration of these alcohols on the catalytic efficiency and thermal stability of the enzyme was determined. The thermal stability of Rv0045c was found to decrease with concentration of methanol, ethanol, or isopropanol. The opposite was true of the thermal stability …

Nitrosative Stress Sensing In Porphyromonas Gingivalis: Structure And Function Of The Heme Binding Transcriptional Regulator Hcpr, Benjamin R. Belvin

Theses and Dissertations

Porphyromonas gingivalis, a Gram negative anaerobe implicated in the progression of periodontal disease, is capable of surviving and causing infection despite high levels of reactive nitrogen species found in the oral cavity due to its efficient nitrosative stress response. HcpR is an important sensor-regulator that plays a vital step in the initiation of the nitrosative stress response in many Gram negative anaerobic bacteria. We employ a combination of X-ray crystallography, SAXS, resonance Raman spectroscopy, UV-Vis spectroscopy, and molecular biology techniques to better understand this key regulator. Knockout of the hcpR gene in W83 P. gingivalis results in the inability of …

Biomarkers Of Sepsis: A Retrospective Approach, Jose M. Roberts

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Background: Biomarkers are taking the spotlight in becoming the norm for early diagnoses. Sepsis is an inflammatory disease that increases metabolic rate in children. The first biomarker is hyponatremia. Hyponatremia is a frequent electrolyte imbalance in clinical practice, often observed in children with inflammatory disease and infection. Presence of hyponatremia is associated with electrical signaling imbalances, inflammation and renal dysfunction. The clinical value of hyponatremia in pediatric patients is unknown. The C-reactive protein is a second biomarker. Its presence signifies that necrotic cells and inflammation are present.

Objectives: To evaluate the use of biomarkers in children seen in the Emergency …

Epidemiological Investigation Of Candida Species Causing Bloodstream Infection In Pediatric Small Bowel Transplant Recipients, Mallory J. Suhr, João Carlos Gomes-Neto, Nabaraj Banjara, Diana F. Florescu, David F. Mercer, Peter C. Iwen, Heather E. Hallen-Adams

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Small bowel transplantation (SBT) can be a life-saving medical procedure. However, these recipients experience high risk of bloodstream infections caused by Candida. This research aims to characterize the SBT recipient gut microbiota over time following transplantation and investigate the epidemiology of candidemia in seven pediatric patients. Candida species from the recipients’ ileum and bloodstream were identified by internal transcribed spacer sequence and distinguished to strain by multilocus sequence typing and randomly amplified polymorphic DNA. Antifungal susceptibility of bloodstream isolates was determined against nine antifungals. Twenty-two ileostomy samples harbored at least one Candida species. Fungemia were caused by Candida parapsilosis …

Comparative Genomic Analysis Of Two Serotype 1/2b Listeria Monocytogenes Isolates From Analogous Environmental Niches Demonstrates The Influence Of Hypervariable Hotspots In Defining Pathogenesis, Aidan Casey, Kieran Jordan, Aidan Coffey, Edward M. Fox, Olivia Mcauliffe

Department of Biological Sciences Publications

The vast majority of clinical human listeriosis cases are caused by serotype 1/2a, 1/2b, 1/2c, and 4b isolates of Listeria monocytogenes. The ability of L. monocytogenes to establish a systemic listeriosis infection within a host organism relies on a combination of genes that are involved in cell recognition, internalization, evasion of host defenses, and in vitro survival and growth. Recently, whole genome sequencing and comparative genomic analysis have proven to be powerful tools for the identification of these virulence-associated genes in L. monocytogenes. In this study, two serotype 1/2b strains of L. monocytogenes with analogous isolation sources, but …

Xpert Mtb/Rif Assay Shows Faster Clearance Of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Dna With Higher Levels Of Rifapentine Exposure., A Jayakumar, R M Savic, C K Everett, Debra Benator, D Alland, C M Heilig, M Weiner, S O Friedrich, N A Martinson, A Kerrigan, C Zamudio, S V Goldberg, W C Whitworth, J L Davis, P Nahid

Medicine Faculty Publications

The Xpert MTB/RIF assay is both sensitive and specific as a diagnostic test. Xpert also reports quantitative output in cycle threshold (CT) values, which may provide a dynamic measure of sputum bacillary burden when used longitudinally. We evaluated the relationship between Xpert CT trajectory and drug exposure during tuberculosis (TB) treatment to assess the potential utility of Xpert CT for treatment monitoring. We obtained serial sputum samples from patients with smear-positive pulmonary TB who were consecutively enrolled at 10 international clinical trial sites participating in study 29X, a CDC-sponsored Tuberculosis Trials Consortium study evaluating the tolerability, safety, and antimicrobial activity …

Pertussis-Associated Pneumonia In Infants And Children From Low- And Middle-Income Countries Participating In The Perch Study., Breanna Barger-Kamate, Maria Deloria Knoll, E Wangeci Kagucia, Christine Prosperi, Henry C Baggett, Daniel E. Park, +31 Additional Authors

Epidemiology Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND:  Few data exist describing pertussis epidemiology among infants and children in low- and middle-income countries to guide preventive strategies.

METHODS:  Children 1-59 months of age hospitalized with World Health Organization-defined severe or very severe pneumonia in 7 African and Asian countries and similarly aged community controls were enrolled in the Pneumonia Etiology Research for Child Health study. They underwent a standardized clinical evaluation and provided nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swabs and induced sputum (cases only) for Bordetella pertussis polymerase chain reaction. Risk factors and pertussis-associated clinical findings were identified.

RESULTS:  Bordetella pertussis was detected in 53 of 4200 (1.3%) cases …