Pertussis - Disease, Control and Challenges

DANIELA HOZBOR

Pertussis - Disease, Control and Challenges

INTECHOPEN LIMITED, Registered in England and Wales No. 11086078

Año: 2017; p. 11 - 23

Pertussis, commonly known as whooping cough, is one of the most common vaccinepreventableinfections. In adolescents and adults, infection may result in a protractedcough and is occasionally associated with substantial morbidity. In children and particularlyinfants, morbidity is more often substantial and the disease may be fatal. Two typesof vaccines against pertussis exist: whole-cell vaccines (wP), developed in the 1940s, containingthe entire inactivated Bordetella pertussis organism, and acellular vaccines (aP)constituting of 1?5 puriied bacterial proteins. The aPs were developed in the 1970s inorder to diminish the adverse efects that could occur in the wP vaccinations. In manyindustrialized countries, aP replaced the wP formulations; however, wPs are still usedfor primary vaccination doses in developing countries. The massive use of both types ofvaccines signiicantly reduced the morbidity and mortality associated with the disease;nevertheless, pertussis is still an important public health problem. In fact, pertussis incidencehas increased in many countries, with large sustained epidemics occurring mostnotably in developed countries that only use acellular vaccine for all the doses includedin the calendar. This chapter focuses on some recent developments in the areas of epidemiology,diagnosis, and treatment of pertussis.