It is no secret that Pertussis, or whooping cough, is
a prevalent disease in society today. If you don’t know see my previous posts
and it should give you some kind of idea. It is particularly interesting to try
and find the origins of diseases and this is what my article outlines. In my
previous post I talked about a key player in the pertussis fight, Dr. Julian
Parkhill. I also mentioned some recent research he had done about finding the
origin of the disease. This article is the published paper in which Parkhill
and his team show their findings.
The Article
The article in question is titled Impact of Whooping Cough Vaccination:Comprehensive Study Shows Effect of Vaccination on Spread of Bordetella pertussis.
The article is very recent and was published on April 23, 2014. I found it through ScieneDaily. The author was
the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Cambridge, UK. Led by Parkhill, they embarked
on a detailed study of the family of bacteria that causes pertussis.
What They Did?
Researching the origin of a disease is no easy task.
It takes a lot of time and patience. It is a lot like putting together a puzzle,
except in this case there are many pieces and instead of just putting the
pieces together you also have to think about the bigger picture and compare the
various aspects of each piece. They used genomic analysis, which is basically
finding and comparing the order of a DNA sequence. Parkhill et al. collected
343 strains of Bordetella pertussis
bacteria from the past 100 years. The different strains also came from around
the world so they could get a wide range of the bacteria. Through many methods
and procedures, they compared these strains and were able to get a better idea
of the origin of the disease, but the result was very shocking to the
researchers.
What They Found?
Researchers were ultimately shocked with their
findings. Originally, researchers though the disease was tens of thousands
years old. From the study, they
concluded that the pertussis bacteria actually evolved relatively recently.
They narrowed down the data and found the disease was actually first Identified
only 500 years ago in Paris, France. They note the only previous mention of the
disease was from a 15th century Korean medical textbook, but no
actual human cases were identified then. They also found the mutation rate of
pertussis being slow and mention it may be a contributing factor to the resurgence
of the disease currently.
Future Implications
So they found out where a disease came from, who
really cares? Finding origins of diseases actually points to future actions
that can be taken. Currently used strategies have not completely ridded us of
pertussis, but instead allowed enough leeway for the disease to mutute,
resulting in a number of variations. This study really allows researchers to
see the path that the pertussis bacterium has taken since its emergence. It
allows a vision of previous mutations and trends, which ultimately allows
researchers a better picture of how to get rid of the disease. This study will
allow researchers to make more effective vaccinations that will ultimately lead
to the decline of pertussis.
Reference
Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute. (2014, April
23). Impact of whooping cough vaccination: Comprehensive study shows effect of
vaccination on spread of Bordetella pertussis. ScienceDaily. Retrieved
November 23, 2014 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/04/140423095206.htm
I think that your analysis of why the study of the history or origin of a disease is important is spot on. I think that this study would be a very difficult undertaking as there are not always reliable sources dating that far back and even when there are records, they can be in many different languages. So the study would have to enlist the help of not just researchers but translators as well. I find it really interesting that they were able to follow it back 500 years! It seems like that would give them a good idea of the path of the disease so that they can more effectively predict its future. Great read, thank you!
ReplyDeleteFinding out where this disease started and came from could definitely help to find out a cure. I was unaware that a coughing disease could be cause from bacteria. I understand that you can cough based off different symptoms of a different illness, but a constant persistent cough would be very annoying and I do see it all over. I think I may even be victim to this but I doubt it is the actual pertussis disease. I bet there are a lot of people that don't know about it and could even have it themselves. I will definitely check back to see what your final bog post is about.
ReplyDeleteHi Randy,
ReplyDeleteYour post is extremely informative. The importance of the origin of this disease is highlighted in multiple points of your post. I’ve always wondered how certain diseases came to be and how they spread so rapidly, in the case of Pertussis, it’s been around so long that I can see where the origin of Patient Zero would be difficult to find. You start to realize how intricate and efficient these diseases can be and how fast they can spread. Also, I have never heard that there are at least 343 strains of pertussis! Overall, this is great post that is informative and engaging! Great job!
Hey Randy,
ReplyDeleteVery informative blog post, I should have wrote my previous blog post similar to the style you presented in this one. I just have a few questions to ask. Do you believe that in the near future we will be able to eliminate Pertussis as a whole? or will it always continue to evolve but still be able to survive? Is it possible another scenario will happen?
I think the disease will always be around and as it has done in history, rates of occurrence, will go up and down. I do think we will find a newer and more effective vaccination to combat it, but I do not think it will wipe out the disease completely. It will continue to exist and co-evolve with our vaccines.
DeleteDr. Julian Parkhill lead in helping taking the time and patience to find the origins of the disease makes him one a milestone leader in this subject. I think your posts have been very touching for me as I mentioned in an earlier post about hearing the whooping cough, and how it really shows itself. Touching on your discussion of Pertussis, and what Randy also wondered, is that do you think that a vaccine for the elimination of Pertussis will exist in the near future?
ReplyDeleteI think a better more effective vaccine will be produced, but I don't think it will completely eradicate the disease. It may drop the rates of occurrence significantly, but nothing more. Hopefully though I am wrong and they can completely wipe it out like the have done with other diseases in the past.
DeleteVery interesting how the origination of the disease plays an instrumental role in the vaccination. I never knew that. I have to say, there was a female sitting in front of me today in Social Psych class and she was coughing, whooping cough style... I wish she had stayed home... it was distracting and I was worried (still am) that she could be spreading the bacteria/germs in the air infecting us all.
ReplyDeleteRandy, I think it was a great idea to divide your post into different paragraphs and each one was well explained. Throughout your blog, you used easy language that made me understand your topic and analysis quickly. Before reading your post, I did not know much about Pertussis. I know it targets mostly children and it killed a lot of people before the vaccine was created. As Meagan mentions, it would be difficult to find a patient zero in this situation, but the purpose of this kind of researches is to find data that will help solve future challenges, not the ones from the past.
ReplyDeleteWow! That's amazing how they are able to date the strain back to its origin. In each battle that one fights, it is important to understand and know their enemy, such as here. Do you think that because its such a young disease relatively speaking and its evolving different strains that it should worry us more? I like the way that you structured your post. Glancing through the section titles created interest in reading.
ReplyDelete