Whooping cough is evolving into a 'Superbug'

[Still Waters]

It starts off like an ordinary cold, but it doesn't end like one. Whooping cough, aka the '100-day cough', is a highly contagious bacterial disease that infects millions of people around the world, killing tens of thousands every year.

Fortunately, vaccines to protect us from the Bordetella pertussis bacterium that causes whooping cough have been around since the mid-20th century, shielding people from the intense, sometimes fatal respiratory symptoms. Unfortunately, B. pertussis is not standing still.

In new world-first research, a team of Australian scientists has discovered how B. pertussis strains are adapting to the current acellular vaccine (ACV) used in Australia, which is similar to the ACVs used for whooping cough in other countries around the world.

"We found the whooping cough strains were evolving to improve their survival, regardless of whether a person was vaccinated or not," explains microbiologist Laurence Luu from UNSW.

https://www.sciencealert.com/whooping-cough-may-evolve-into-a-superbug-if-we-don-t-do-something-scientists-warn