PERTUSSIS IN THE AMERICAS REGION: RECENT EPIDEMIOLOGICAL DATA PRESENTED AT THE 2017 GLOBAL PERTUSSIS INITIATIVE (GPI) ROUNDTABLE MEETING; CANCUN, MEXICO, NOVEMBER 2017

HOZBOR D Y COLABORADORES

Congreso; European Society for Paediatric Infectious Disease; 2018

Background and ObjectivePertussis remains among the leading vaccine-preventable diseases in many developed and developing countries, including those from the Americas region. The GPI is an expert scientific forum, which publishes consensus recommendations for pertussis monitoring, prevention, and treatment across many regions of the world. Here, we report the proceedings of a regional GPI meeting, held in Mexico in November 2017.MethodsInformation on current pertussis epidemiology, surveillance, vaccine strategies, diagnostic capabilities, disease awareness, and major local obstacles was presented by researchers from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico, United States, Uruguay and Venezuela.Learning Points DiscussionPertussis outbreaks have been detected during the last decade in the majority of participant countries. Currently, for the primary vaccination schedule series: 7 countries use wP vaccine and the other 5 aP vaccine. Improvements in pertussis surveillance have been accomplished after those outbreaks. Molecular-based diagnosis based on polymerase chain reaction is available in most of the countries. Due to improvements in surveillance, pertussis prevalence in the most vulnerable population (infants <1 year) is much better defined. Based on these data and recommendations from organizations such as the GPI, 7/12 countries introduced maternal immunization during pregnancy. Interestingly, countries in which this strategy has been introduced  >two years ago have began to detect a reduction in the infant case-fatality rate.CONCLUSIONS: Surveillance and vaccination strategies are not homogeneous among different regions of the Americas. However, all countries need to maintain and improve pertussis surveillance and to reach primary dose coverage of above 90%. Moreover, countries without maternal immunization programs should strongly consider them. KeywordsPertussisepidemiologyvaccinesAmericas RegionMaternal ImmunizationCoverages