Whooping cough bacteria are becoming smarter at colonising and feeding off unwitting hosts, strengthening calls for a new vaccine, according to UNSW researchers.
The bacterium that causes whooping cough has evolved – most likely in response to the vaccine used to prevent the disease – with a possible reduced effectiveness of the vaccine as a result, a new study shows.
Australia’s prolonged whooping cough epidemic has entered a disturbing new phase, with a study showing the emergence of a new strain capable of evading the vaccine.
Vaccination programs against whooping cough may not be fully effective because the bacteria that cause the disease have mutated, a UNSW study has found.
