Will we have new pertussis vaccines?

Area of Science:

• Immunology
• Vaccinology
• Infectious Diseases

Background:

• Pertussis (whooping cough) persists globally despite widespread vaccination.
• Current vaccines (DTwP, DTaP) and strategies like booster shots, cocoon vaccination, and maternal immunization have limitations in controlling pertussis.
• There is a critical need for novel pertussis vaccines to address control challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the current challenges in pertussis control.
• To explore new pertussis vaccine candidates in development.
• To highlight the potential of the live attenuated nasal vaccine BPZE1.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing pertussis vaccination strategies and their limitations.
• Overview of pre-clinical development of novel pertussis vaccine candidates.
• Summary of pre-clinical and early clinical data for the BPZE1 vaccine.

Main Results:

• Existing vaccination strategies have not achieved complete pertussis control.
• Several new vaccine candidates are under development, including whole-cell, outer membrane vesicle, acellular, and live attenuated vaccines.
• The BPZE1 live attenuated nasal vaccine demonstrated safety, efficacy in animal models, and safety and immunogenicity in a first-in-man clinical trial.

Conclusions:

• Novel pertussis vaccines are essential for effective disease control.
• BPZE1 shows significant potential as a safe and effective vaccine candidate.
• BPZE1's ability to reduce carriage and transmission may offer a path to ultimate pertussis control.