Common trends in reported pertussis cases and in B. pertussis isolates confirm the epidemics. Both epidemics followed periods of low vaccine coverage of children. Mortality and CFR during the epidemic periods were low. Most deaths and the highest CFR were among patients less than 1 year of age. Reductions in mortality and in CFR are probably associated with improved care of infants rather than a change in the severity of disease.
Pertussis remains a severe disease for a substantial proportion of affected children.
In both Glasgow and Edinburgh, extra wards were opened to accommodate children with pertussis. Attack rates among DTP recipients and DT recipients were compared. This study confirmed that the DTP vaccine used in the United Kingdom was highly effective in protecting individuals against pertussis. The epidemiology of pertussis and the effect, value, and risks of vaccine were reviewed in 1981 by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization of the Department of Health and Social Security of Great Britain. This reassurance and the current major epidemic have led to the recent increase in vaccine acceptance in England.