parapertussis

A similar, milder disease is caused by 'Bordetella parapertussis'.

Pertussis (bordetella pertussis and bordetella parapertussis).

Pertussis, or whooping cough, is an upper respiratory infection caused by the Bordetella pertussis or B. parapertussis bacteria.

Bordetella parapertussis is a small Gram-negative bacterium of the genus Bordetella that is adapted to colonise the mammalian respiratory tract.

Bordetella parapertussis shows the most similarity to B. pertussis and was therefore used for research determining the role of PT in causing the typical symptoms of whooping cough.

Rats infected with B. parapertussis or a PT-deficient mutant of B. pertussis did not show this symptom; neither of these two strains produced PT.

This antigen protects B. parapertussis against antibodies specific to B. pertussis, so the bacteria are free to colonize the host's lungs without being subject to attack by previous antibodies.

This list included some diseases with low pathogenicity (e.g., pediculosis and scabies) and some diseases with inadequate or non-existent preventive measures (e.g., infectious mononucleosis and parapertussis).

B. pertussis and occasionally B. parapertussis cause pertussis or whooping cough in humans, and some B. parapertussis strains can colonise sheep.