Laboratory Maintenance of Bordetella pertussis.

The causative agent of the respiratory disease whooping cough, Bordetella pertussis, is a nutritionally fastidious microorganism but can be grown with relative ease in research laboratories. Stainer-Scholte synthetic broth medium and Bordet-Gengou blood agar both support growth of B. pertussis and are commonly used. B. pertussis prefers aerobic conditions and a temperature range of 35 degrees to 37 degrees C. Appropriate laboratory safety protocols are required to prevent the generation of aerosols, which could potentially spread this highly infectious agent.