Pertussis vaccination in newborns

Abstract

Bordetella pertussis remains in fifth place among the leading etiologies of vaccine-preventable deaths in children around the world. The impact of this disease is considerable in North America, Latin America, Europe and other parts of the world. Therefore, new vaccination strategies have been recommended in the last decade, predominantly to protect infants younger than 2 months of age, which is the most vulnerable age group and, thus, at greater risk of hospitalizations, complications and death. These new strategies include vaccination with the tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis vaccine in adolescents, adults and postpartum women ('cocoon strategy'); while vaccination of pregnant women is still controversial. Although recent clinical trials have shown the potential benefits of vaccinating newborns with monovalent or combined acellular pertussis vaccines, no vaccine is yet approved for this age group. The paper under evaluation describes the results of a prospective clinical trial in which neonatal immunization with an acellular pertussis vaccine was administered between 2 and 5 days of age. The vaccine was shown to be safe, well tolerated and immunogenic; however, decreased antibody responses were seen, predominantly to Haemophilus influenzae type b.