- The correct answer is Bordetella pertussis because it is the primary causative agent of whooping cough, a highly contagious respiratory disease.
- This gram-negative bacterium produces toxins that damage the respiratory epithelium, leading to the characteristic severe paroxysmal coughing spells with a “whooping” sound.
- Neither Haemophilus influenzae, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, nor Streptococcus pneumoniae cause this specific clinical syndrome.
- Therefore, Bordetella pertussis is uniquely associated with whooping cough.