Assessing the Evidence for Maternal Pertussis Immunization: A Report From the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Symposium on Pertussis Infant Disease Burden in Low- and Lower-Middle-Income Countries
Clinical Infectious Diseases·
- DOI
- 10.1093/cid/ciw530
- PMID
- 27838664
- PMCID
- PMC5106619
- OpenAlex
- W2549125940
- Study type
- Journal article
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Article type
- journal-article
- Integrity
- current
Why this research matters now
Because an estimated share of neonatal deaths arise from infectious causes and direct protection in early life depends on maternally transferred antibodies, maternal immunization is positioned as a candidate intervention, with antenatal care reach identified as a key implementation consideration.
Structured evidence summary
Research question
The symposium examined the evidence base for maternal pertussis immunization in low- and lower-middle-income countries (LMICs) and identified knowledge gaps regarding early infant pertussis disease burden.
Study design
The work is a symposium report from a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation expert meeting that reviewed existing evidence and identified research gaps, rather than a primary empirical study.
Population and setting
The focus is infants, particularly those too young to be vaccinated, in low- and lower-middle-income countries, with discussion of the reach of antenatal care programs for vaccine delivery.
Main findings
Pertussis continues to circulate globally despite inclusion of pertussis-containing vaccines in childhood schedules, and current modeling estimates attribute roughly 1% of under-5 mortality to pertussis, with unvaccinated infants at highest risk. Tdap-based maternal immunization programs have reduced infant pertussis mortality in high-income countries, but Tdap is considered cost-prohibitive for routine LMIC use.
Public-health relevance
Because an estimated share of neonatal deaths arise from infectious causes and direct protection in early life depends on maternally transferred antibodies, maternal immunization is positioned as a candidate intervention, with antenatal care reach identified as a key implementation consideration.
Important limitations
The summary is limited to the supplied single-article abstract/metadata and requires the original paper for decision-grade interpretation; the abstract itself notes that robust contemporary epidemiologic data on infant pertussis mortality in LMICs are limited.
GIDS interpretation
This item is a 2016 symposium report that frames pertussis maternal immunization as a discoverable policy and surveillance topic relevant to LMIC neonatal mortality; no connection is made here to any live surveillance signal.
Related GIDS surveillance
Literature context does not validate, explain, or change a surveillance signal. Exact and contextual relationships are shown separately.
Evidence relationships
This article has 14 auditable classifier relationships to diseases, places, topics, and study design.