Maternal Pertussis Immunization: Can It Help Infants?

Pertussis (whooping cough) is a highly contagious and potentially fatal disease that is preventable by vaccination. However, the incidence of whooping cough has increased despite having high vaccine coverage rates in the US. Infants younger than 12 months are especially susceptible to pertussis, and...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association 2014-05, Vol.311 (17), p.1736-1737
Main Authors: Jiménez-Truque, Natalia, Edwards, Kathryn M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Babies
Diphtheria-Tetanus-acellular Pertussis Vaccines - immunology
Diphtheria-Tetanus-Pertussis Vaccine - immunology
Disease prevention
Female
Humans
Immunization
Infant, Newborn - immunology
Maternal & child health
Pregnancy
Whooping cough
Whooping Cough - prevention & control
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Pertussis (whooping cough) is a highly contagious and potentially fatal disease that is preventable by vaccination. However, the incidence of whooping cough has increased despite having high vaccine coverage rates in the US. Infants younger than 12 months are especially susceptible to pertussis, and those younger than 2 months--too young to start their diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and acellular pertussis (DTaP) vaccination series--represent many of the pertussis cases, hospitalizations, and deaths. To protect infants from pertussis, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommended in 2008 that postpartum women and close contacts of the newborn receive a booster tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid, and acellular pertussis (Tdap) injection to "cocoon" the infant from acquiring pertussis. Here, Jimenez-Truque takes a closer look at the study done by Munoz and colleagues on maternal pertussis immunization and discusses whether such immunization can help infants.
ISSN:0098-7484
1538-3598
DOI:10.1001/jama.2014.3555