Bordetella pertussis colonies on charcoal blood agar with cefalexin.
Colony morphology: small, shiny, round colonies, mercury-silver in color. The colonies become whitish grey with age.

B. pertussis is identified by slow growth in primoculture (usually after 2 days), colony morphology, oxidase reaction, and slide agglutination with specific antisera.

Cultivation 6 days, 35 °C in an aerobic atmosphere.