Outcomes of Bordetella pertussis infection in different age groups of an immunized population

J Infect Dis. 1994 Oct;170(4):873-7. doi: 10.1093/infdis/170.4.873.

Abstract

Outcomes of Bordetella pertussis infection were studied in 3 age groups (1-3, 4-6, and 7-15 years) during outbreaks in one day care center (n = 29) and in two elementary schools (n = 210). A total of 76 children were confirmed as having B. pertussis infection; 74 were confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and 18 by culture. A positive PCR result was less common in children 1-3 years old than in those 4-6 (P = .006). Asymptomatic B. pertussis infection was more common in preschool children than in schoolchildren (P < .001), whereas schoolchildren presented with symptoms compatible with clinical pertussis more often than preschool children (60/210 vs. 3/29, P = .029). In the community of 12,691, the attack rate (laboratory-confirmed patients/100,000) was 317 in children < 4 years, 1838 in children 4-6 years, 2535 in children 7-15 years, and 248 in persons > 15 years. The protection provided by conventional pertussis vaccine is evidently rather short-lived, and booster vaccinations are needed to eradicate pertussis among schoolchildren and adults.

Publication types

  • Clinical Trial
  • Comparative Study
  • Controlled Clinical Trial
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Age Factors
  • Antibodies, Bacterial / blood
  • Bordetella pertussis / isolation & purification
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Female
  • Finland
  • Humans
  • Immunoglobulin A / blood
  • Immunoglobulin G / blood
  • Immunoglobulin M / blood
  • Infant
  • Male
  • Pertussis Vaccine*
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Prospective Studies
  • Treatment Outcome
  • Whooping Cough / immunology
  • Whooping Cough / therapy*

Substances

  • Antibodies, Bacterial
  • Immunoglobulin A
  • Immunoglobulin G
  • Immunoglobulin M
  • Pertussis Vaccine