A systematic review of the burden of pertussis disease in infants and the effectiveness of maternal immunization against pertussis
Creators: name: Kandeil, Walid
name: Van Den Ende, Caroline
name: Bunge, Eveline M.
name: Jenkins, Victoria A.
name: Ceregido, Maria Angeles
name: Guignard, Adrienne
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: Medicine
subject: Biotechnology
subject: Immunology
subject: FOS: Clinical medicine
subject: FOS: Clinical medicine
subject: Science Policy
subject: 110309 Infectious Diseases
subject: FOS: Health sciences
subject: FOS: Health sciences
subject: Computational Biology

description: Infants too young to be fully immunized are the most vulnerable to severe pertussis disease. To close this susceptibility gap, passive infant immunization through vaccination of pregnant women against pertussis was first introduced in 2011 in the United States and has been extended since then to more than 40 countries. We conducted two systematic literature searches to describe the worldwide burden of pertussis disease in infants &lt;6 months of age since 2005, and the effectiveness and impact of maternal pertussis vaccination in preventing infant pertussis since 2011. Pertussis disease incidence rates in infants aged &lt;2-3 months were substantial in all countries with available data, exceeding 1000 cases per 100,000 population during outbreaks. Virtually all pertussis deaths occurred in this age group. Data from Africa, Eastern Mediterranean, and Asia were limited, but suggest a similar or higher disease burden than in Europe or the Americas. Estimates of effectiveness of second/third trimester pertussis vaccination in preventing pertussis disease in &lt;2-3 months old infants were consistently high (69%–93%) across the observational studies reviewed, conducted in various settings with different designs. Maternal vaccination programs appear to be achieving their goal of reducing the burden of disease in very young infants. Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, is a highly contagious disease of the respiratory tract.Infants too young to be fully vaccinated are at the highest risk of severe pertussis disease, hospitalization, and death.Vaccinating pregnant women against pertussis with a Tdap vaccine is recommended in more than 40 countries as a safe and effective strategy to protect infants for the first months of life. Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, is a highly contagious disease of the respiratory tract. Infants too young to be fully vaccinated are at the highest risk of severe pertussis disease, hospitalization, and death. Vaccinating pregnant women against pertussis with a Tdap vaccine is recommended in more than 40 countries as a safe and effective strategy to protect infants for the first months of life. This review summarizes recent literature describing the burden of pertussis disease in infants worldwide prior to the introduction of maternal vaccination programs; pertussis disease incidence rates in infants aged &lt;2-3 months were substantial in all countries with available data, exceeding 1000 cases per 100,000 population during outbreaks.Immunization of pregnant women with a Tdap vaccine can prevent about 70–90% of pertussis disease and up to 90.5% of pertussis hospitalizations in infants under 3 months of age. This review summarizes recent literature describing the burden of pertussis disease in infants worldwide prior to the introduction of maternal vaccination programs; pertussis disease incidence rates in infants aged &lt;2-3 months were substantial in all countries with available data, exceeding 1000 cases per 100,000 population during outbreaks. Immunization of pregnant women with a Tdap vaccine can prevent about 70–90% of pertussis disease and up to 90.5% of pertussis hospitalizations in infants under 3 months of age. Limited available data suggest that incidence rates of pertussis disease after the introduction of Tdap maternal immunization have declined in infants.Current knowledge supports the implementation of Tdap maternal immunization programs. Limited available data suggest that incidence rates of pertussis disease after the introduction of Tdap maternal immunization have declined in infants. Current knowledge supports the implementation of Tdap maternal immunization programs.