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August 30, 2002

INTERNATIONAL IMMUNIZATION NEWS

"Effectiveness of Acellular Pertussis Vaccine Assessed by Hospital-Based Active Surveillance in Germany" Clinical Infectious Diseases

(www.journals.uchicago.edu/CID/home.html) (07/15/02) Vol. 35, No. 2, P. 162; Juretzko, P.; von Kries, R.; Hermann, M.

Physicians in Germany for the most part use an acellular vaccine for the prevention of pertussis.  To determine how the vaccine performed in preventing pertussis cases that required hospitalization, researchers conducted a telephone survey for children born between June 1996 and December 1998 to review vaccination rates and obtained data about hospitalization of children with pertussis in 1997 and 1998 and patients with pertussis complications between 1997 and 2000.  The cross-referenced data showed that completing a vaccination schedule with acellular pertussis vaccine resulted in a 99.8 percent prevention rate.  In addition, just one dose of the vaccine caused a 68.0 percent effectiveness, while two doses caused 91.8 percent effectiveness.  In fact, the vaccine was even more effective in preventing pertussis complications, according to the survey.

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