A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Seroprevalence of pertussis among adults in China where whole cell vaccines have been used for 50 years
Authors: Chen Z, Zhang J, Cao L, Zhang N, Zhu J, Ping G, Zhao J, Li S, He Q.
Publisher: Elsevier Ltd.
Publication year: 2016
Journal: Journal of Infection
Volume: 73
Issue: 1
First page : 38
Last page: 44
Number of pages: 7
ISSN: 0163-4453
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinf.2016.04.004(external)
AbstractOBJECTIVE:
To estimate the true incidence of pertussis in Chinese adults who are at a childbearing age.
METHODS:A
total of 897 serum samples from healthy individuals aged 20-39 years
were selected randomly from a large number of serum samples collected in
2010 in Beijing, China. Anti-pertussis toxin (Ptx) IgG antibodies were determined with the Virion/Serion ELISA kits using purified Ptx as a coating antigen.
Only
124 (13.8%) were found to have undetectable anti-Ptx IgG antibodies.
The mean concentration was 13.76 IU/ml (95% CI, 12.37-15.15). Forty-six
(5.1%) subjects had anti-Ptx IgG levels greater than or equal to
40 IU/ml, indicative of a pertussis
infection, and nine (1%) had IgG antibodies greater than or equal to
100 IU/ml, indicative of a recent infection within a year. No
significant differences were observed between age groups of 20-29 and
30-39 years, or between genders.
Our study showed that about 5% of adults aged 20-39 years had positive anti-Ptx IgG antibodies, suggesting that adult pertussis is common in China.
Giving a booster vaccination to pregnant women should possibly be
considered in order to protect young infants who are too young to be
vaccinated in this country.
