Pertussis in India: Chandigarh’s Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) has reported a sharp rise in pertussis-like respiratory illness caused by Bordetella holmesii, a lesser-known bacterium that can mimic whooping cough, across north India.
In a study of 935 suspected cases published in the CDC’s journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, researchers found nearly 37% were due to B. holmesii, overtaking infections from the historically dominant Bordetella pertussis.
Also Read | How to ease post-smog cough: Home soothers or doctor?
The spike was most pronounced in 2023 and largely affected children aged 5–10 years. PGIMER’s ongoing surveillance since 2015 shows B. pertussis prevalence falling from 15–20% to just 2–5%, while B. holmesii infections have climbed, signalling a shift in the causes of whooping-cough-like illness in the region. The work was led by Dr Vikas Gautam’s lab at PGIMER with collaborators at CSIR-IMTECH, Chandigarh.
Pertussis, a highly contagious disease once responsible for high childhood mortality, remains a public-health challenge in Asia. After a dip during the COVID-19 years, cases have rebounded. India recently reported about 13.6 million cases, while China’s incidence rose from 0.13 per 100,000 in 2013 to 2.15 per 100,000 in 2019, surpassing 58,990 reported cases by early 2024.
PGIMER said the new findings underscore the institute’s role in detecting emerging pathogens, following its earlier identification of Stenotrophomonas sepilia linked to sepsis.
