CARRIER STATE IN PERTUSSIS

Linnemann, C.C., Jr. (Emory Univ. School of Med., Atlanta, Ga., 30322), J.W. Bass and M. H. D. Smith. The carrier state in pertussis. Amer. J. Epid., 1968, 88: 422-427.--Nasopharyngeal swabs were taken on 1102 individuals, including groups of well babies, preschool and school children, and family and neighborhood contacts of cases, during a year when pertussis was epidemic in the study area. These were cultured on Bordet-Gengou medium with and without added penicillin and examined by fluorescent antibody staining. There were five positive cultures, three from children with mild upper respiratory symptoms and two from children who were asymptomatic at the time of culture but who later developed cough. No asymptomatic carriers were demonstrated. It is possible that B. pertussis is carried in a form other than the typical Phase I organism and would not have been detected by the methods used. © 1968, by The Johns Hopkins University.