Czech scientists help discover how whooping cough bacteria cling to airways

Czech scientists, in cooperation with colleagues from the University of California, Santa Barbara, have discovered how the bacteria that cause Whooping Cough attach to the human respiratory tract.

Researchers from the Institute of Microbiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences found the bacteria produce a special protein that allows them to cling firmly to the airways and evade the body’s natural defences. The findings were published in the journal Science.

The discovery comes as Czechia approaches 70 years since regular vaccination against whooping cough began in 1958. The country also saw a major outbreak two years ago, when more than 37,000 cases were reported.