Pertussis outbreak in university students and evaluation of acellular pertussis vaccine effectiveness in Japan

Recent studies worldwide have reported increasing numbers of adults diagnosed with Bordetella pertussis despite receiving childhood vaccinations. This study describes a pertussis outbreak at a university medical faculty campus and examines the effectiveness of diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTaP) vaccination completed during infancy in Japan.

After the outbreak, self-administered questionnaires and serum samples were collected from students on campus to determine the incidence of pertussis and underlying diseases. Pertussis was diagnosed on the basis of clinical criteria and serum anti-pertussis toxin antibody levels. Using data collected from 248 first and second grade students who had submitted copies of their vaccination records, we evaluated the effectiveness of DTaP vaccination in infancy against adult pertussis.

Questionnaire responses were obtained from 636 students (of 671 registered students; 95% response rate). Of 245 students who reported a continuous cough during the outbreak period, 84 (attack rate: 13.2%) were considered "probable" pertussis cases that met clinical criteria. The outbreak occurred mainly in first and second grade students in the Faculty of Medicine. Of 248 students who provided vaccination records, 225 had received 4 DTaP doses (coverage: 90.7%); the relative risk of the complete vaccination series compared to those with fewer than 4 doses or no doses for probable cases was 0.48 (95% confidence interval: 0.24-0.97).

Waning protection was suspected due to over time. Booster vaccination for teenagers and development of highly efficacious pertussis vaccines are needed.