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Updated: Jul 11, 2026

Evaluation of Host-Pathogen Responses and Vaccine Efficacy in Mice
Published on: February 22, 2019
Hypotonic and hyporesponsive episodes after diptheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis vaccination
James D Cherry1, Albert G Karam
1David Geffen School of Medicine, Mattel Children's Hospital at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Abstract:
Administration of the discontinued diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus vaccine was occasionally associated with a hypotonic-hyporesponsive episode in infants. The whole bacterial cell pertussis component was the likely culprit. For this reason, an acellular pertussis component was developed and incorporated into a new vaccine commonly called diptheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis (DTaP). Administration of DTaP vaccine has been followed by remarkably few hypotonic or hyporesponsive episodes. This report describes one of these unusual events.
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