Background: Despite the widespread availability of 2 classes of effective
vaccines, whole cell and acellular, pertussis has resurged as a serious
public health problem. We sought to investigate the pertussis immune status
of mother-neonate pairs and children in our country where pertussis
vaccination is obligatory. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 75
healthy full-term neonates and their mothers, 100 infants (2-24 months), 170
children (2-12 years) and 80 adolescents (12-18 years). Serum pertussis
IgG was measured in all enrolled subjects. A positive titre was defined as
>24 U/ml. Results: Positive pertussis IgG levels were detected in 69 of the
mothers (92%), in 63 of their newborns (84%). Seroimmunity to pertussis
was positively noted in 55% of infants, 82.2% of preschool children, 77.5%
of school-aged children and 75% in adolescents. Serum pertussis IgG titers
among the neonates showed a significant positive correlation with the
maternal titers (P=0.00001). Higher rates of pertussis seroimmunity was
observed among residents in urban and suburban areas as compared to
those living in rural areas (P<0.05) . Conclusion: This pilot study may
suggest the presence of sufficient pertussis seroimmunity rates in the studied
age groups. Still, there were some failures in immune acquisition probably
due to inefficient vaccination in some localities or waning of immunity with
age. Wider scale studies would allow better insight into the pertussis
immune status in our country and hence the need for booster immunization.