Although pertussis is a vaccine-preventable infection, vaccine-induced immunity is not lifelong and booster doses are recommended according to national disease epidemiology. The aim of this study was to evaluate pertussis-IgG levels in school-aged students in Ahvaz, south-west Islamic Republic of Iran. In a descriptive, cross-sectional study, blood samples were obtained from 640 students (382 b...

Pertussis or whooping cough is a highly infectious, vaccine preventable disease. The incidence of the disease  has greatly been reduced since the introduction of the diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis vaccine. Pertussis resurgence has been observed in highly vaccinated populations of Western countries since 1990s. Poor vaccine quality, waning vaccine induced immunity, pathogen adaptation, and enhan...

Bordetella pertussis (B. pertussis) is the causative agent of whooping cough, a respiratory disease that is reemerging worldwide. Mechanisms of selective lymphocyte trafficking to the airways are likely to be critical in the immune response to this pathogen. We compared murine infection by B. pertussis, B. parapertussis, and a pertussis toxin-deleted B. pertussis mutant (BpΔPTX) to test the hyp...

BACKGROUND Infants are at greatest risk for pertussis morbidity and mortality. Maternal vaccination during pregnancy has been shown to prevent pertussis in young infants in high- and middle-income countries. However, data on the levels of maternal pertussis antibodies and the efficiency of transplacental transfer in low-income South Asian settings are limited. OBJECTIVE To estimate the preval...

BACKGROUND As has occurred in many regions worldwide, in 2012 the incidence of pertussis increased in Perú. This epidemiologic situation has been associated with a waning vaccine-induced immunity and the adaptation of Bordetella pertussis to vaccine-induced immunity along with improved diagnostic methods. METHODS The study comprised a total of 840 pertussis-suspected cases reported in Perú du...

OBJECTIVE To determine knowledge and attitudes about pertussis and pertussis vaccination among healthcare workers (HCWs). DESIGN Self-administered, Web-based survey. SETTING Tertiary-care academic medical center. PARTICIPANTS Medical center employees who participated in direct patient care were recruited to complete the survey through institutional e-mail. RESULTS Of 14,893 potentially ...

Implementation of effective interventions has halved maternal and child mortality over the past 2 decades, but less progress has been made in reducing neonatal mortality. Almost 45% of under-5 global mortality now occurs in infants <1 month of age, with approximately 86% of neonatal deaths occurring in low- and lower-middle-income countries (LMICs). As an estimated 23% of neonatal deaths global...

BACKGROUND Most cases of adult pertussis probably remain undiagnosed. AIM To explore the prevalence, diagnosis, and disease course of acute pertussis infection in adult patients presenting with acute cough. DESIGN AND SETTING Prospective observational study between 2007 and 2010 in primary care in 12 European countries. METHOD Adults presenting with acute cough (duration of ≤28 days) were...

BACKGROUND Vaccine against pertussis has been in use for several decades. Despite the widespread use of pertussis vaccine, evidence shows resurgence of pertussis in high-income countries. Pertussis surveillance data is largely missing from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Without data on trends of pertussis, it is difficult to review and amend pertussis control policies in any country....

BACKGROUND Bordetella pertussis infections continue to be a major public health challenge in Canada. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays to detect B pertussis are typically based on the multicopy insertion sequence IS481, which offers high sensitivity but lacks species specificity. METHODS A novel B pertussis real-time PCR assay based on the porin gene was tested in parallel with several p...