Uncertainties of B. pertussis and whooping cough as a zoonotic disease have existed since around 1910,[REF][REF] but in the 1930s, the bacteria were found to have lost their virulent power when repeatedly spread on agar media.
At least some primate species are highly sensitive to B. pertussis, and develop a clinical whooping cough in high incidence when exposed to low inoculation doses [REF].