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Pertussis in adolescents and adults: time to reimmunize?
1NIAID-funded Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Units at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
Insights
Adults are increasingly recognized as reservoirs for pertussis (whooping cough) infections due to waning immunity. New acellular pertussis vaccines show promise for adult immunization, potentially reducing disease transmission.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Infectious Diseases
- Vaccinology
Background:
- Adults are increasingly identified as significant reservoirs for pertussis (whooping cough) infections.
- Waning immunity following childhood pertussis immunization contributes to the resurgence of pertussis in adults.
- Adults are also susceptible to symptomatic pertussis disease.
Purpose of the Study:
- To address the growing understanding of adult pertussis reservoirs.
- To evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of novel acellular pertussis vaccines in adults.
- To inform future recommendations for adolescent and adult pertussis immunization.
Main Methods:
- Development of new acellular pertussis vaccines based on components of Bordetella pertussis.
- Clinical evaluation of these acellular vaccines in adult populations.
- Assessment of vaccine safety and immunogenic responses.
Main Results:
- The novel acellular pertussis vaccines were found to be safe for administration in adults.
- These vaccines demonstrated significant immunogenicity in the adult study population.
- The vaccines are composed of one or more purified components of the Bordetella pertussis organism.
Conclusions:
- Acellular pertussis vaccines are safe and elicit a robust immune response in adults.
- These findings support the potential for routine immunization of adolescents and adults with acellular pertussis vaccines.
- Widespread use of acellular pertussis vaccines in adolescents and adults is anticipated in the coming years.
Abstract:
The role of adults as reservoirs of pertussis infections and as victims of symptomatic disease has recently been recognized. Waning immunity after routine pertussis immunization in childhood appears to contribute to this problem. The expanded knowledge of the components of the Bordella pertussis organism has led to the production of new vaccines consisting of one or more bacterial components. These vaccines have been found to be safe and immunogenic in adults. It is likely that within the next several years the general use of acellular pertussis vaccines for the routine immunization of adolescents and adults will be recommended.