Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 22, 2025
Evaluation of Host-Pathogen Responses and Vaccine Efficacy in Mice
Published on: February 22, 2019
Pertussis notifications decline in Australia during COVID-19 non-pharmaceutical interventions, 2020-2021
Saskia van der Kooi1,2, Frank Beard2,3, Aditi Dey2,3
1Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine Health and Human Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Background:
Following implementation of coronavirus diseases 2019 (COVID-19) non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) in early 2020, declines in the incidence of other respiratory pathogens have been reported. This study aimed to assess the impact of these interventions on pertussis notifications in Australia.
Methods:
We compared monthly national notification rates for pertussis during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic (2020 and 2021) to those during the three pre-pandemic years (2017 to 2019). Incidence rate ratios (IRR) by age group and jurisdiction were calculated for 2020 and 2021 compared to the mean prepandemic annual notification rate.
Results:
A substantial progressive decline in pertussis notifications was seen across all age groups, with all-age notification rates more than 40% lower than the pre-pandemic period in all jurisdictions in 2020, and more than 80% lower in 2021. Notification rates decreased more slowly from a lower baseline in Victoria than in other states and territories, despite the stricter, more sustained NPIs implemented in Victoria.
Conclusion:
The significant decrease in pertussis notifications across all jurisdictions and age groups has likely resulted in reduced infection-acquired immunity, making maintenance of high vaccine uptake, particularly among pregnant women and young infants, of key importance.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
01:51Vaccinations
01:18Steps in Outbreak Investigation
02:07Conservation of Declining Populations
01:17Transmission-based Precautions I: Contact, Enteric, and Droplets
Contact Precautions:
Contact precautions are the measures taken to prevent the transmission of infectious agents, especially epidemiologically important microorganisms such as MRSA or influenza, primarily transmitted through direct or indirect contact with an...
01:28Pulmonary Tuberculosis V
Latent tuberculosis infection occurs when TB bacteria are present in a person's body, but are not causing illness or symptoms. It is not contagious, and preventive treatment is crucial to avoid the...
01:25Transmission-based Precautions II: Airborne and Protective Environment
Airborne precautions:
Use airborne precautions when treating patients known or suspected to have diseases that spread through the air—for example, tuberculosis or measles. These organisms are present in smaller droplets expelled by an infected person and...