Pertussis

Abstract 

Pertussis is an infectious disease of the respiratory tract caused by Bordetella pertussis. Worldwide, whole-cell pertussis vaccines have led to a significant reduction in the incidence and severity of pertussis in infants. Despite this decrease in incidence, pertussis remains one of the principal causes of vaccine-preventable deaths; there are 20–40 million cases per year worldwide and an estimated 200,000–400,000 deaths. Advances in diagnostic techniques, such as PCR assays, have improved laboratory diagnosis of pertussis in addition to the traditional culture and serology testing. In addition to routine childhood vaccination with whole-cell or acellular pertussis vaccines, available prevention strategies include booster doses of vaccine for adolescents and adults and post-exposure prophylaxis with antibiotics; in the future, maternal and neonatal vaccination may prove valuable in preventing disease in young infants. This review will provide a summary of B. pertussis and recent advances in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention.

Keywords: aetiology, antibiotics, Bordetella pertussis, clinical features, diagnosis, epidemiology, pathogenesis, transmission, vaccination