Whooping cough in young children: risks of adverse course and modern approaches to prevention
Authors: Popova O.P. ,   Russian Medical Academy of Continuous Professional Education, Moscow, Russian Federation, Skirda T.A. , Blyakher M.S. , Fedorova I.M. , Koteleva S.I. , Chabaidze Zh.L. , Bunin S.V. ,   G.N.Gabrichevsky Research Institute for Epidemiology and Microbiology, Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing, Moscow, Russian Federation,   G.N.Gabrichevsky Research Institute for Epidemiology and Microbiology, Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing, Moscow, Russian Federation,   G.N.Gabrichevsky Research Institute for Epidemiology and Microbiology, Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing, Moscow, Russian Federation,   G.N.Gabrichevsky Research Institute for Epidemiology and Microbiology, Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing, Moscow, Russian Federation,   G.N.Gabrichevsky Research Institute for Epidemiology and Microbiology, Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing, Moscow, Russian Federation,   Russian Medical Academy of Continuous Professional Education, Moscow, Russian Federation,   Clinical Hospital of Infectious Diseases No 1, Moscow, Russian Federation
Published: July 2024

Objective. To analyze the features of whooping cough in patients under 1 year of age and the state of transplacental protection in children under 1 month of age in modern conditions. Patients and methods. The clinical analysis of whooping cough features in children under 1 year of age is based on observations of 424 patients hospitalized in the Clinical Hospital of Infectious Diseases No 1 in the period of 2017–2019. To verify whooping cough, PCR and ELISA methods were used with the Ridascreen/Bordetella pertussis test system (R-biofarm AMG, Germany), which allows detecting antibodies of various classes (IgM, IgG, IgA). Serological screening to detect antibodies to pertussis antigens was carried out in 52 children under the age of 1 month, hospitalized in various hospitals for newborns in Moscow. Results. Analysis of clinical forms showed that among hospitalized patients, severe forms were observed much more often among children aged 1–3 months, accounting for 38.0 ± 3.8% (63 children) versus 7.0 ± 2.4% (8 children) aged 4–6 months (p < 0.001) and 5.6 ± 1.9% (8 children) aged 7–12 months (p < 0.001). In all age groups, moderate severity of the disease prevailed, occurring in 59.6 ± 3.8%, 86.8 ± 3.2%, and 90.3 ± 2.5% of children, respectively. Analysis of antibodies transplacental transfer in newborns showed that IgG antibodies were detected below the threshold level in 37 (71.1 ± 6.3%) blood serum samples, 3 (5.8 ± 3.2%) corresponded to the threshold values, and 12 (23.3 ± 5.8%) were above the threshold. The predominance of seronegative children proportion suggests a possible high risk of the disease in children of this age with severe forms of whooping cough. Conclusion. Given the severe course and the presence of fatal outcomes in children of the first months of life, it is advisable to vaccinate pregnant women to create passive immunity in newborns. Key words: whooping cough, clinical forms, antibodies, newborns, passive immunity