Evolution of pertussis epidemics and effect of genotypes on infection outcomes and immunisation

百日咳是由百日咳杆菌引起的。尽管疫苗覆盖率很高，但近年来澳大利亚百日咳的发病率大幅增加。其中一个影响因素是百日咳菌株的变化。该项目将确定澳大利亚流行毒株的遗传组成和毒力特征，并调查这些毒株对疾病严重程度和接种疫苗者感染易感性的影响。

Pertussis, or whooping cough, is caused by Bordetella pertussis. Despite high vaccine coverage, the incidence of pertussis has increased substantially in recent years in Australia. One of the contributing factors is changes in the pertussis strains. This project will determine the genetic composition and virulence characteristics of epidemic strains in Australia and investigate the effect of these strains on disease severity and vulnerability of vaccinated individuals to infection.