TY - JOUR
T1 - The global pertussis initiative
T2 - Meeting report from the regional Latin America meeting, Costa Rica, 5-6 December, 2008
AU - Ulloa-Gutierrez, Rolando
AU - Hozbor, Daniela
AU - Avila-Aguero, Maria L.
AU - Caro, Jaime
AU - Von König, Carl Heinz Wirsing
AU - Tan, Tina
AU - Plotkin, Stanley
N1 - Funding Information:
The Global Pertussis Initiative is supported by an unrestricted educational grant from Sanofi Pasteur. Dr. Ulloa-Gutierrez has served as a speaker for Sanofi Pasteur, GSK, Wyeth, Pfizer, Merck; on Advisory Boards for Sanofi Pasteur, GSK, Wyeth; and as Chairman-Co-chairman for Sanofi Pasteur and GSK. Dr. Hozbor’s and Dr. Avila-Aguero’s salaries are financed by their respective governments and they have no conflicts of interest to report. Dr. Caro works for United BioSource Corporation, a consulting company that has received grants for research work and contracts from multiple vaccine manufacturers. Dr. Wirsing von Koenig has no conflicts of interest to report. Dr. Tan has received unrestricted research grants from Sanofi Pasteur and Merck; she has done speaking and teaching and has served on advisory committees for Sanofi Pasteur, Merck and Wyeth; she serves as a consultant for Sanofi Pasteur and on advisory committees for GSK. Dr. Plotkin is a consultant to most major manufacturers of pertussis vaccines, including Sanofi Pasteur. Writing support was provided by Phil Matthews, Ph.D., of PAREXEL and was funded by Sanofi Pasteur.
PY - 2010/11
Y1 - 2010/11
N2 - Pertussis remains endemic across the world, with an estimated 279,000 deaths in 2002, the majority in infants under 1 year of age. Worldwide epidemiologic data indicates increasing infection rates in older children and adults, which act as a source of infection to young infants. The Global Pertussis initiative (GPI) is an expert scientific forum, which has published consensus recommendations for the monitoring, prevention and treatment of the disease. This paper reports the proceedings of a regional meeting, held in Costa Rica in December 2008. The meeting gathered information on regional epidemiological, diagnostic capabilities and the ability to introduce GPI recommended vaccine strategies in Latin America. The capacity of Latin American countries to conduct vaccination programs is high and there is considerable government support. Whole-cell pertussis vaccines are used across Latin America, which appear to be quite effective. A 4-dose schedule is typically used (2, 4, 6 and 18 months) and a booster given at 4 to 6 years of age, with coverage often above 90%, but with regions of low coverage due to political and geographical difficulties. Adequate surveillance is lacking in many countries, giving insufficient data to guide vaccination policy. Improvements are being made, with countries such as Costa Rica, Panama and Argentina introducing polymerase chain reaction (PCR) diagnosis. Those countries that do not currently use a preschool booster should launch one. Implementing vaccination programs in adolescents and/or adults to reduce exposure to infants would be beneficial and possible in most countries, given their current infrastructure.
AB - Pertussis remains endemic across the world, with an estimated 279,000 deaths in 2002, the majority in infants under 1 year of age. Worldwide epidemiologic data indicates increasing infection rates in older children and adults, which act as a source of infection to young infants. The Global Pertussis initiative (GPI) is an expert scientific forum, which has published consensus recommendations for the monitoring, prevention and treatment of the disease. This paper reports the proceedings of a regional meeting, held in Costa Rica in December 2008. The meeting gathered information on regional epidemiological, diagnostic capabilities and the ability to introduce GPI recommended vaccine strategies in Latin America. The capacity of Latin American countries to conduct vaccination programs is high and there is considerable government support. Whole-cell pertussis vaccines are used across Latin America, which appear to be quite effective. A 4-dose schedule is typically used (2, 4, 6 and 18 months) and a booster given at 4 to 6 years of age, with coverage often above 90%, but with regions of low coverage due to political and geographical difficulties. Adequate surveillance is lacking in many countries, giving insufficient data to guide vaccination policy. Improvements are being made, with countries such as Costa Rica, Panama and Argentina introducing polymerase chain reaction (PCR) diagnosis. Those countries that do not currently use a preschool booster should launch one. Implementing vaccination programs in adolescents and/or adults to reduce exposure to infants would be beneficial and possible in most countries, given their current infrastructure.
KW - Incidence
KW - Latin America
KW - Pertussis
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=78649338008&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.4161/hv.6.11.13077
DO - 10.4161/hv.6.11.13077
M3 - Article
C2 - 20980794
AN - SCOPUS:78649338008
SN - 1554-8600
VL - 6
SP - 876
EP - 880
JO - Human vaccines
JF - Human vaccines
IS - 11
ER -