Incidence of Pertussis in Older Children Underestimated in the Whole-Cell Vaccine Era: A Cross-Sectional Seroprevalence Study.

Qian-Qian Du, Qing-Hong Meng, Wei Shi, Kai-Hu Yao

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Article in Vaccines, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Qian-Qian DuKey Laboratory of Major Diseases in Children, Ministry of Education, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Diseases, National Key Discipline of Pediatrics, Laboratory of Infection and Microbiology, Beijing Pediatric Research Institute, Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Center for Children's Health, Beijing 100045, China.

Qing-Hong MengKey Laboratory of Major Diseases in Children, Ministry of Education, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Diseases, National Key Discipline of Pediatrics, Laboratory of Infection and Microbiology, Beijing Pediatric Research Institute, Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Center for Children's Health, Beijing 100045, China.

Wei ShiKey Laboratory of Major Diseases in Children, Ministry of Education, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Diseases, National Key Discipline of Pediatrics, Laboratory of Infection and Microbiology, Beijing Pediatric Research Institute, Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Center for Children's Health, Beijing 100045, China.ORCID 0000-0001-9269-2312

Kai-Hu YaoKey Laboratory of Major Diseases in Children, Ministry of Education, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Diseases, National Key Discipline of Pediatrics, Laboratory of Infection and Microbiology, Beijing Pediatric Research Institute, Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Center for Children's Health, Beijing 100045, China.ORCID 0000-0003-1548-8670

Funding

Funding for Reform and Development of Beijing Municipal Health Commission EYGF-WSW-04

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesChina was once a country with a high incidence of pertussis, with reported incidence rates exceeding 100 per 100,000 before the introduction of the pertussis vaccine. After the widespread implementation of the pertussis vaccination program, reported cases of pertussis significantly decreased. This study aimed to investigate the serological prevalence of pertussis among school-age children during the administration of the whole-cell pertussis (wP) vaccine in China.

methodsWe selected a representative random sample from different schools, with the inclusion criteria being school-age children without clinical symptoms of pertussis. A total of 368 frozen serum samples were obtained from children aged 6-<18 years at various schools in Guizhou in November 2005 and subsequently analyzed.

resultsThe positive rate of anti-pertussis toxin (PT) IgG antibodies (>62.5 IU/mL) were 4.9% (16/368) among school-age children. The positive rates of anti-PT IgG antibodies were 3.3%, 3.8%, 4.0%, 3.3%, and 10.8% in children aged 6-<8 y, 8-<10 y, 10-<12 y, 12-<14 y, and 14-<18 y, respectively. The increase in PT-IgG antibody levels among older children was likely due to pertussis infection in these school-age children. The positive rate of anti-PT IgG varied between different schools. The pertussis antibody levels of adolescents aged 14-<18 y were significantly higher than those of school-age children in the younger age group (6-<8 y and 8-<10 y) (

conclusionsDuring the era of wP vaccine use, pertussis infections were common among school-age children, particularly in adolescents, with potential unrecognized localized or school-based outbreaks.

Indexed as

anti-PT IgGimmunological responsepertussisschool-age childrenseroepidemiologyvaccination

Identifiers

PMID40006747

DOI10.3390/vaccines13020200

PMCPMC11861050

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