Macrolide-resistant Bordetella pertussis strain identified during an ongoing epidemic, Finland, January to October 2024

: Miettinen, Milja; Barkoff, Alex-Mikael; Nyqvist, Aino; Savolainen-Kopra, Carita; Antikainen, Jenni; Mertsola, Jussi; Ivaska, Lauri; He, Qiushui

Publisher: European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC)

: 2024

: Eurosurveillance

: Euro Surveill

: 29

: 49

: 1025-496X

: 1560-7917

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2024.29.49.2400765

: https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.es.2024.29.49.2400765

: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/477189947

Since April 2024, a pertussis epidemic has been ongoing in Finland with 2,215 notified cases by end October. Of them, 30.1% (n = 667) were aged 10-14 years. Of the 462 Bordetella pertussis isolates characterised, one was macrolide-resistant (minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of erythromycin, azithromycin and clarithromycin > 256 μg/mL). The resistant isolate was serotype FIM2, vaccine antigen pertactin-deficient and harboured ptxP3 allele. The emergence of macrolide-resistant B. pertussis in Europe is worrisome and its rapid identification is important.

eurosurv-29-49-1.pdf

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This study was partly supported by Sigrid Juselius Foundation (240045 to QH) and Tampere Tuberculosis Foundation (26006205 to QH).