Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Nov;22(47):17-00011.
doi: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2017.22.47.17-00011.

Enhanced Bordetella pertussis acquisition rate in adolescents during the 2012 epidemic in the Netherlands and evidence for prolonged antibody persistence after infection

Saskia van der Lee  1   2 , Susanne P Stoof  1   2 , Mariette B van Ravenhorst  1   2 , Pieter G M van Gageldonk  1 , Nicoline A T van der Maas  1 , Elisabeth A M Sanders  2 , Anne-Marie Buisman  1 , Guy A M Berbers  1
Affiliations

Enhanced Bordetella pertussis acquisition rate in adolescents during the 2012 epidemic in the Netherlands and evidence for prolonged antibody persistence after infection

Saskia van der Lee et al. Euro Surveill. 2017 Nov.

Abstract

IntroductionIn 2012 a large epidemic of pertussis occurred in the Netherlands. We assessed pertussis toxin (PT) antibody levels in longitudinal serum samples from Dutch 10-18 year-olds, encompassing the epidemic, to investigate pertussis infection incidence. Methods: Blood was sampled in October 2011 (n = 239 adolescents), then 1 year (2012; n = 228) and 3 years (2014; n = 167) later. PT-IgG concentrations were measured by immunoassay and concentrations ≥50 IU/mL (seropositive) assumed indicative of an infection within the preceding year. Results: During the 2012 epidemic, 10% of participants became seropositive, while this was just 3% after the epidemic. The pertussis acquisition rate proved to be sixfold higher during the epidemic (97 per 1,000 person-years) compared with 2012-2014 (16 per 1,000 person-years). In 2012, pertussis notifications among adolescents nationwide were 228/100,000 (0.23%), which is at least 40 times lower than the seropositivity percentage. Remarkably, 17 of the 22 seropositive participants in 2011, were still seropositive in 2012 and nine remained seropositive for at least 3 years. Discussion: Longitudinal studies allow a better estimation of pertussis infections in the population. A PT-IgG concentration ≥50 IU/mL as indication of recent infection may overestimate these numbers in cross-sectional serosurveillance and should be used carefully.

Keywords: Acquisition Rate; Antibody Decay; Epidemiology; Outbreak; Pertussis; Serology.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Absolute number of reported pertussis cases for Dutch adolescents 10 to 18 years of age, January 2010–December 2015 (n = 13,127 total cases)
Figure 2
Figure 2
Follow up at different time points of Dutch study participants aged between 10 and 18 years for pertussis infection, the Netherlands, 2011–2014 (n = 239 initial participantsa)
Figure 3
Figure 3
Individuals’ paired pertussis toxin (PT) specific IgG concentrations (IU/mL) in A) 2011 vs 2012, and B) 2012 vs 2014, the Netherlands, 2011–2014 (n = 239 initial participantsa)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Cherry JD, Paddock CD. Pathogenesis and histopathology of pertussis: implications for immunization. Expert Rev Vaccines. 2014;13(9):1115-23. 10.1586/14760584.2014.935766 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Mattoo S, Cherry JD. Molecular pathogenesis, epidemiology, and clinical manifestations of respiratory infections due to Bordetella pertussis and other Bordetella subspecies. Clin Microbiol Rev. 2005;18(2):326-82. 10.1128/CMR.18.2.326-382.2005 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Roehr B. Whooping cough outbreak hits several US states. BMJ. 2010;341(aug24 2):c4627. 10.1136/bmj.c4627 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Carcione D, Regan AK, Tracey L, Mak DB, Gibbs R, Dowse GK, et al. The impact of parental postpartum pertussis vaccination on infection in infants: A population-based study of cocooning in Western Australia. Vaccine. 2015;33(42):5654-61. 10.1016/j.vaccine.2015.08.066 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Elomaa A, He Q, Minh NN, Mertsola J. Pertussis before and after the introduction of acellular pertussis vaccines in Finland. Vaccine. 2009;27(40):5443-9. 10.1016/j.vaccine.2009.07.010 - DOI - PubMed

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources