Hemolytic uremic syndrome due to an altered factor H triggered by neonatal pertussis

We report on a previously healthy newborn suffering from severe Bordetella pertussis infection who developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) a few weeks after the onset of whooping cough, with a fatal outcome. A factor H protein with abnormal mobility was found in the serum of the patient as analyzed by Western blotting, indicating that B. pertussis infection might have triggered HUS in a genetically predisposed patient. Received: 13 July 2000 / Revised: 3 October 2001 / Accepted: 9 October 2001