Comparing Respiratory Illness Surveillance Case Definitions to Detect Bordetella pertussis in Children Aged <5 Years With Respiratory Illness in South Africa, 2017-2023.
Article in The Journal of infectious diseases, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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1 · What the graph read from it
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5 · Who and what money
Authors and funding
16 authors.
Kate BishopDivision of Public Health Surveillance and Response, National Institute for Communicable Diseases, Division of the National Health Laboratory Service, Johannesburg.ORCID 0000-0002-2460-3215
Fahima MoosaCentre for Respiratory Diseases and Meningitis, National Institute for Communicable Diseases, Division of the National Health Laboratory Service, Johannesburg.ORCID 0000-0003-0281-3649
Mvuyo MakhasiCentre for Respiratory Diseases and Meningitis, National Institute for Communicable Diseases, Division of the National Health Laboratory Service, Johannesburg.ORCID 0000-0002-7647-9463
Jackie KleynhansCentre for Respiratory Diseases and Meningitis, National Institute for Communicable Diseases, Division of the National Health Laboratory Service, Johannesburg.ORCID 0000-0001-7081-6273
Fathima NabyDepartment of Health KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg Metropolitan Hospitals, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg.ORCID 0000-0002-3537-2707
Mignon du PlessisCentre for Respiratory Diseases and Meningitis, National Institute for Communicable Diseases, Division of the National Health Laboratory Service, Johannesburg.ORCID 0000-0001-9186-0679
Gary ReubensonRahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital, Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.ORCID 0000-0003-2541-4165
Halima DawoodInfectious Diseases Unit, Department of Medicine, Greys Hospital, Pietermartzburg.ORCID 0000-0001-8180-6791
Heather J ZarDepartment of Paediatrics and Child Health, Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital, and SA-MRC Unit on Child and Adolescent Health, University of Cape Town, Cape Town.ORCID 0000-0002-9046-759X
Susan MeiringDivision of Public Health Surveillance and Response, National Institute for Communicable Diseases, Division of the National Health Laboratory Service, Johannesburg.ORCID 0000-0003-4508-5469
Vanessa QuanDivision of Public Health Surveillance and Response, National Institute for Communicable Diseases, Division of the National Health Laboratory Service, Johannesburg.ORCID 0000-0003-1666-4752
Nicole WolterCentre for Respiratory Diseases and Meningitis, National Institute for Communicable Diseases, Division of the National Health Laboratory Service, Johannesburg.ORCID 0000-0002-9526-0133
Anne von GottbergCentre for Respiratory Diseases and Meningitis, National Institute for Communicable Diseases, Division of the National Health Laboratory Service, Johannesburg.ORCID 0000-0002-0243-7455
Cheryl CohenCentre for Respiratory Diseases and Meningitis, National Institute for Communicable Diseases, Division of the National Health Laboratory Service, Johannesburg.ORCID 0000-0003-0376-2302
Alex de VouxDivision of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Cape Town, Cape Town.ORCID 0000-0002-9182-5598
Sibongile WalazaCentre for Respiratory Diseases and Meningitis, National Institute for Communicable Diseases, Division of the National Health Laboratory Service, Johannesburg.ORCID 0000-0001-7588-2480
Funding
African Field Epidemiology NetworkNCIRD CDC HHS U51 IP000155US Centers for Disease Control and PreventionUS Centers for Disease Control and Prevention NU51IP000155US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention NU51IP000948
6 · The paper itself
Abstract
backgroundPertussis is vaccine preventable, and surveillance can guide interventions. Assessing the performance of syndromic surveillance and the World Health Organization (WHO) pertussis case definitions can identify improvements to enhance detection and monitoring of Bordetella pertussis.
methodsWe analyzed respiratory illness sentinel surveillance data among children aged <5 years from January 2017 through December 2023. Participants were enrolled for surveillance as outpatients with influenza-like illness (ILI) or in-patients with severe respiratory illness (SRI). Nasopharyngeal swabs were tested for B pertussis via polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Sensitivity and specificity, and performance indicators of case definitions were evaluated against PCR results.
resultsOf 23 642 participants with PCR results, B pertussis was detected in 0.7% from ILI and 1.6% from SRI. When compared with the WHO pertussis case definition, a modified definition (including apnea, omitting cough duration) improved sensitivity (ILI, 30.0% vs 43.3%; SRI, 55.7% vs 60.2%) but reduced specificity (ILI, 90.5% vs 75.8%; SRI, 88.3% vs 80.9%). WHO and modified pertussis case definitions missed a large proportion of true pertussis cases (ILI, 70.0% vs 56.7%; SRI, 44.3% vs 39.8%).
conclusionsCurrent pertussis case definitions likely underestimate disease burden. Revising the WHO pertussis case definition and integrating pertussis into syndromic surveillance could improve detection while leveraging existing resources.
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.
Comparing Respiratory Illness Surveillance Case Definitions to Detect Bordetella pertussis in Children Aged <5 Years With Respiratory Illness in South Africa, 2017-2023. · full record | OpenQuestion