Mouse or man? Which are pertussis vaccines to protect?

Abstract

SUMMARYType 1 strains ofBordetella pertussiscan infect mouse brain and have been recovered as type 1 organisms after death. When introduced into the naso-pharynx of the marmoset, they immediately acquired agglutinogen 2 or 3, and the resulting type 1,2 or 1,3 infection persisted for many weeks.As in the child, agglutinogens 2 and/or 3 appear to be essential for infection of the marmoset, whereas they are quite unnecessary in mouse brain. A vaccine (extract or whole cell) containing agglutinogen 1 may be sufficient to pass the mouse protection test but it may fail to immunize children. The mouse test is inadequate even for the screening of such extracts.