Pertussis or commonly known as whooping cough is an infectious disease that was first described in 1578 by a French Doctor by the name of Guillaume De Baillou. Guillaume De Baillou described an epidemic of pertussis in Paris, his description was the first clinical description of the pertussis disease. Pertussis was then discovered by Jules Bordet and Octave Gengou in 1906. The name Bordetella Pertussis was named after one of the Founders Bordet and Pertussis meaning violent cough. Bordetella Pertussis is a bacteria disease that produces molecules that increase their effectiveness which include pertussis toxin, filamentous hemagglutinin, agglutinogens, adenylate cyclase, pertactin, and tracheal cytotoxin. The Bacteria changes its surface protein in order to bypass the hosts immune’s response. The molecules then produce toxins. The Centers for Disease Control and…show more content… Incubation periods generally occur between 7 and 10 days but can span 4 to 21 days but on rare occasions may incubate as long as 42 days. Pertussis is branched into 3 stages. The first stage is catarrhal which has the symptoms of the common cold, coryza inflames the mucous membrane in the nose, sneezing, mild cough and a low grade fever occur. After about 1-2 weeks the second stage Paroxysmal begins this is characterized by the violent coughs due to the inability to discharge the thick mucus from the tracheobronchial tree due to the toxins that paralyzed the cilia that
