Pertussis

Pertussis is an infectious bacterial disease caused by Bordetella pertussis; some human illness is also attributed to Bordetella parapertussis ^[1][2]. The organism is described as a Gram-negative, pleomorphic, aerobic coccobacillus ^[2]. Contemporary reviews characterize pertussis as both vaccine-preventable and epidemiologically complex, with questions remaining about natural immunity, vaccine-derived immunity, and transmission prevention ^[1].

The source material characterizes pertussis as a cough illness that can produce serious and potentially fatal complications, particularly in very young infants ^[2][3]. Severe infection requiring hospitalization, including intensive care, is reported mainly in children under 3 months of age ^[2]. One review notes that the disease can be fatal in the unvaccinated, especially very young infants ^[1]. Source-backed detail on the full symptom sequence, duration, and specific complication spectrum is not yet available from the provided snippets ^[1][2][3].

Pertussis has been present in humans for at least 800 years and remains a worldwide public-health concern ^[1][2]. The introduction of whole-cell vaccines in the 1940s and 1950s was associated with a drastic decline in incidence, but some countries with high acellular vaccine coverage have since experienced a resurgence in reported cases ^[1]. The literature attributes this resurgence, at least in part, to molecular changes in the organism, waning immunity, lessened vaccine efficacy, and improved awareness or diagnostic capability ^[2]. Surveillance interpretation is complicated by incomplete case detection, limited genomic sequencing, heterogeneity in diagnostic methods, and the absence of a serologic marker of immunity ^[1].

Pertussis is described as highly contagious and highly infectious, but the provided sources do not give a detailed mechanism of spread ^[1][2][3]. In infants, the source of infection is usually a family member, indicating close-contact household exposure as an important epidemiologic pattern ^[2]. Source-backed detail on environmental persistence, specific infectious periods, or exposure settings is not yet available from the snippets ^[1][2].

The clearest high-risk group in the provided sources is very young infants, especially those under 3 months of age, who bear most severe disease and hospitalization burden and may be too young to benefit from immunization ^[1][2][3]. Unvaccinated persons are also identified as being at risk for fatal disease ^[1]. Infant exposure is often linked to a family member as the source of infection, highlighting household contacts as a relevant risk context ^[2].

Prevention is centered on vaccination, as pertussis is explicitly described as vaccine-preventable ^[2]. The source material notes that whole-cell vaccines reduced incidence substantially, while newer acellular vaccines were developed for improved tolerability and adopted mainly in high-income countries ^[1]. One cited public-health strategy is immunization during pregnancy, which was reported as favorable in cost-benefit analyses and expected to prevent more infant cases, hospitalizations, and deaths than cocooning strategies ^[2]. Source-backed detail on other exposure-control measures is not yet available from the snippets ^[1][2][3].

Pertussis surveillance should be interpreted cautiously because reported trends are influenced by incomplete case detection, variation in diagnostic methods, limited genome sequencing, and the absence of a serologic marker of immunity ^[1]. Apparent increases in case counts may reflect both true resurgence and improved awareness or diagnostic capability ^[2]. For monitoring purposes, severe disease in very young infants and household-linked infant infections are important contextual signals, but source-backed detail on standard case definitions or reporting intervals is not yet available ^[2].

1. 1 Domenech de Cellès M et al. Pertussis vaccines, epidemiology and evolution. Nat Rev Microbiol. 2024 Nov. PMID: 38907021. doi: 10.1038/s41579-024-01064-8. PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38907021/
2. 2 Nieves DJ et al. Bordetella pertussis. Microbiol Spectr. 2016 Jun. PMID: 27337481. doi: 10.1128/microbiolspec.EI10-0008-2015. PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27337481/
3. 3 Nguyen VTN et al. Pertussis: The Whooping Cough. Prim Care. 2018 Sep. PMID: 30115332. doi: 10.1016/j.pop.2018.05.003. PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30115332/
4. 4 Pertussis toxin (Bordetella pertussis). Guidebook to Protein Toxins and Their Use in Cell Biology. 1997. doi: 10.1093/oso/9780198599555.003.0011. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198599555.003.0011
5. 5 Pertussis and Pertussis Vaccine. JAMA. 1984. doi: 10.1001/jama.1984.03340470035022. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.1984.03340470035022
6. 6 Pertussis and Pertussis Syndrome. Introduction to Clinical Infectious Diseases. 2019. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-91080-2_6. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91080-2_6

ICD-10

A37

ICD-11

CA01

Total cases

1.5M

Total deaths

58

Peak month

2024-05

Coverage

9 reporting countries · 2000-01-01 → 2026-06-20