NC_017223:51180 Bordetella pertussis CS chromosome, complete genome
Host Lineage: Bordetella pertussis; Bordetella; Alcaligenaceae; Burkholderiales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria
General Information: This group of organisms is capable of invading the respiratory tract of animals and causing severe diseases. They express a number of virulence factors in order to do this including filamentous hemagglutins for attachment, cytotoxins, and proteins that form a type III secretion system for transport of effector molecules into host cells. This organism, which is unable to persist in the environment, is a strict human pathogen that causes whooping cough. Once a common cause of death in children the development of a vaccine has greatly decreased the number of deaths due to Bordetella pertussis. However, this organism infects and estimated 39 million people and kills hundreds of thousands of people each year.